DEatHNOtE: Erased
by Asiera
Summary: LXVII: The King of the Shinigami is the sole creator of all the Death Notes and their rules, thereby, he has the power to make any and all previous rules null and void as he sees fit/pleases. Everything you knew about DeathNote is about to change...
1. How to Use It: LXVII

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Death Note or any related materials.

**AN**: This story is rated **M** for violence, foul language, dark imagery, death, and sexual themes.

**Full Summery**: A "going back" fic in which, under the curiosity of the Shinigami King and the final Death Note rule, the past is wiped clean and each of the characters intertwined so tightly in the ever changing tapestry of fate are given a second chance to rewrite history giving rise to the possibility of a different outcome in the war between the two greatest minds in history. And although neither Light nor L, or any of the other of the important pieces in the delicate and deadly chess game are aware of this mass erasing of events, their actions are guided and changed by a personal messenger of the Shinigami King; a masked lady who's name, face, identity, intentions, and motives are as unclear and shrouded as the outcome of this new line of destiny.

**Prelude**

**How To Use It: LXVll**

_It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. This world is...how was it put?_

_**Rotten.**_

_Yes...yes it is...if things continue the way they have...nothing... Nothing good anyhow._

_**It needs a savior. A God.**_

_True...but a god? _

_**It needs order.**_

_I know...But...what if...what if the savior himself becomes corrupt? Is a world, in strict order, under a corrupt god...any better then a rotten one? Isn't no savior better then a rotten one?_

_**Everything rots.**_

_Everything?_

_**Most things. You did. But now you won't. Those eyes of yours wouldn't allow it. **_

Eyes...green eyes...

_**A savior for the rotten savior of a rotten world. **_

_Me?_

_**You see anyone else around here?**_

_No...but me?_

_**You wanna sit here another 30 years?**_

_Mu...nothingness...30 years of it...no more._

_**That's what I thought.**_

_But how? It's already happened. And once dead—_

_**You think too much. Here, read it.**_

_'Death Note. How To Use It. LXVll'...I thought you weren't supposed to give these to humans..._

_**Just read it, besides, you're not exactly human anymore are you?**_

_'The King of the Shinigami is the sole creator of all the Death Notes and their rules, thereby, he has the power to make any and all previous rules null and void as he sees fit/pleases...'_

_**Go on.**_

_'Also, the King of the Shinigami can alter any event that was in some way effected by a Death Note whether it be direct or not'..._

_**Understand now?**_

_But, if that's true, and you care enough to do something, why not just make it happen like you want it to? Why give out a task where the rate of success is close to one percent?_

_**That wouldn't be very entertaining now would it?** **And don't be so pessimistic. Your chance of success is actually around five percent.**_

_But how am I supposed to save—_

_**No, not you.**_

_I thought there wasn't anybody else around here._

_**There are, you just can't see them. But that's not the point. There is only one person who can save our rotten savior and it isn't you. Not directly at least.**_

_Wait...so you're saying...I'm going to be the savior of the savior of ...the savior?_

_**Of the rotten world, yes.**_

_My head hurts..._

**Chuckles_, I thought it would. So you want the job?_**

_I... Alright but who is it and how? _

_**Watch, wait, listen. You're probably pretty good at all of them by now...**_

Time passes...years...seconds...months...minutes...weeks...hours...it's impossible to tell here...

_L._

_**His mortal enemy... I like it.**_

_But how am I gonna—_

_**No more questions.**_

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: This chapter was my first conversation fic and yes, I know it's pretty vague and probably confusing but nothingness is pretty vague and confusing so it was intentional. None of the other chapters will be like this (maybe parts of the second) and this will run like any normal fic. If this chapter, or intro as it is better classified as, has caught your interest, please review and stick around for the rest of the story. I hope you all enjoy.

**Important; **There is no O.C. In this story, just a rather undeveloped character that I took the liberty of developing and molding to best fit my needs.

-Asiera


	2. Silent Reveries

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, anime or manga.

AN: It's been awhile but life's been crazy. Thank you to all my wonderful reviews: Sayuri2023, SkywardShadow, and dancers of the night.

This chapter is strongly based of of Episode 25: Silence (one of my favorites) and there is a lot of direct quotes from the episode. It's only because I'm still setting up, by next chapter we say goodbye to the old Death Note story (well, mostly). Hopefully you all enjoy.

**Chapter I**

**Silent Reveries**

_I'm ready._

_**Really? So Quickly? I thought it would be longer.**_

_I've watched everything a thousand times over. As far as I can see there is only one way to do it. Only one way to save one without killing the other. But...I need a favor..._

_**A favor huh? I'm not big on helping humans ya know.**_

_It's the only way this is going to work._

_**Well, what is it?**_

_I need to be able to touch another Shinigami's Death Note._

_**Touch a Shinigami's Death Note eh? That's it? No stopping time or super powers?**_

_You wouldn't give them to me anyway. No, I just need to be able to touch it...just touch, grab it, move it for forty seconds after I first make contact with it. That's it. I'm sure that won't be too big of an inconvenience to you._

_**You assume much...Fine, I'll do it. But nothing is free.**_

_I though as much._

_**I'll let you do this one thing but...you will never be able to write in a Death Note again. Every time you try to make any kind of mark on a Note's page, the mark will simply be...erased.**_

_That sucks._

_**You still up to it.**_

_The alternative sucks more._

_**Very well. Goodbye daughter of Eve.**_

_...DEatHNOtE..._

_Barren, endless landscape. Swirls of shadow and light making it impossible to determine the time. Was there any concept of time in this place? Blue fire laced the ground, springing up at odd moments. It licked at his legs leaving him shivering as if he had been drenched in icy water. Tiny shimmering particles fell from the sky. Snow? No, snow didn't leave small painful burns on his skin where it touched him that vanished only seconds later. _

_Nothing made any sense here....nothing...Mu? Well if this was Mu what was that shape materializing out of the haze? A tree? Yeah some kind of pure white tree laden with equally pure, untainted looking fruit. There was a figure standing in front of the tree. A girl...a Shinigami? Why couldn't he tell? It's hand was out stretched offering him something...an apple. She had no face. He could not see a face!_

_He felt drawn to her; no, drawn to the glittering morsel in her hand. Then he was there, right next to it. He felt his teeth sink into its crisp flesh, felt the juices dribbling down his chin, and then..._

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Light jerked upwards into sitting position. He had moved so quickly that he nearly found himself on the floor instead of in the bed. He rubbed his forehead and tried to steady his breathing. "Man that was one seriously messed up dream," he muttered lifting his hand to his lips. It had been so real...he half expected to feel remnants of the apple's juice. Nope, dry, well aside from the cold sweat that he seemed to have broken out in.

Light sighed and glanced over at the clock. His half hour nap to get some much needed rest had gone over by about forty-five minutes. During that time, the previously sunny day had turned black and menacing. Lightning streaked across the sky followed a few seconds later by crashing thunder, all the while torrents of rain assaulted the windows. _I slept through all this? God I must have been out._

After a few seconds of gathering his thoughts, Light pushed himself out of bed. He grabbed one of his work shirts that was hanging limply on a nearby chair and slipped it over his T-shirt, not even bothering to button it in the front. Then he headed out the door where he proceeded to pace the many corridors of the building as he had become accustom to doing in his recent days of freedom from L's watchful eyes. Since Higuchi's death and the discovery of the Thirteen Day Rule, it seemed as if the two had switched places. L was now the one who was under Light's constant vigilance and it seemed to be taking a toll on the former.

_It won't be long now... _thought Light, a sadistic smirk twitching at the corner of his lips. _Rem will have to make her move sooner or later. Ryuzaki is stubborn and proud. He won't let go of his theory about the identities of Kira and the second Kira so easily. With Misa's life and happiness in danger, Rem will be forced to act. And when that happens, the three biggest threats to the creation of my perfect world will be eliminated and I will be left unopposed to rule over it as its god. It's all falling into place...I'll win, Ryuzaki. It's assured._

As Light continued to run over and over his plans and plot out his—Kira's—next move, his footsteps inadvertently began to direct him towards the roof.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Gong...Gong... _The bell. Why is it so persistent today? It hasn't sounded like this in...._ He sighed. _In a very long time. Perhaps it is trying to warn me of some coming danger. No need... I already know. Light... _Thunder rumbled somewhere off in the distance. _Kira... _He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but the sound got lower, more ominous. _13 days...that's what it all comes down to. But...it has to end doesn't it?_

A cold wind whipped by, biting through his wet clothing. He felt so alone, not that it was of any real consequence but he did. The bell sounded again, seeming to amplify the feeling of solitude within him with each coarse note. It shouldn't bother him. He was always alone before, but now... He tilted his head upwards, allowing the rain drops to continuously slap against his pale skin, to wash over him, willing them to carry everything away and leave him in peace.

A presence disturbed L from his revere. At first the prospect of a companion in this storm was comforting but the feeling became laced with a bitter sense of fear as he turned and saw who was standing just out side the shadows. "Light-kun..." he murmured quietly, the sound was lost in the downpour as was what Light said next. L cupped his hand over his ear to signify that he couldn't understand him. That was true in many ways.

Light moved his hand up to his mouth and tried again, this time louder. "Why...are you....standing....by yourself..."

_No that's not what he said, though I often wonder that myself. _He repeated his earlier gesture.

Light straitened up and L imagined him rolling his eyes. Surprisingly though, he moved forwards placing his arm above his head as though it was some kind of makeshift shield. Not a very effective one to be sure and by the time the two were in hearing distance of each other, Light was just as wet as L.

"What are you doing Ryuzaki?" asked the unexpected companion, and though L was sure Light was most likely annoyed at having to get a cold shower just to communicate with him, no such emotion could be detected in Light's voice.

"Oh, I'm not doing anything in particular, it's just..." it was amazing how close the emotions were to coming forth. It was as if Light's presence had loosened the carefully constructed bonds that held them back even more. "I hear the bell." There was no problem in telling Light this but still he wondered why he had done it.

"The bell?" asked the other in obvious confusion.

"Yes, the sound of the bell has been unusually loud today." _It seems I want to trust him...to call him my friend but..._

Light's eyes searched in both directions, the look of bewilderment still present on his handsome features. "Hmm? I don't hear anything."

_His eyes. His eyes tell me that I am wrong to do so, but right in my conclusion. Should I not be pleased about this? _"Really? You can't hear it? It's been ringing nonstop all day, I find it very distracting." He sighed. "I wonder if it is a church. Maybe a wedding, or perhaps a..."

"What are you getting at Ryuzaki?" asked Light, obviously tired of this illogical tale. "Come on cut it out, let's get back inside."

L's eyes became down cast. _Definitely not the wedding..._ "I'm sorry...Nothing I say makes any sense anyway." _I know I'm right but I can't make anyone else see that I am. They only believe that I'm a sore loser who is too proud to let go of my theory... Am I? But more importantly, do I want to be wrong? _He sighed. "If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it."

This last comment seemed to confuse or trouble Light for a few seconds and once again the pouring rain became the predominating sound. Eventually it was broken by a slight laugh accompanied by a smirk, not the blood chilling one that L had caught on his lips in the past, but the one he used when others were looking. L shivered, fearing the day when that sadistic smile would be warn openly for him to see.

Unaware of the other's thoughts, Light continued unfazed, innocent smirk still in place. "You know you're totally right. Honestly most the things you say sound like complete nonsense."

_Well that was considerate of you wasn't it..._

"There'd be no end to my troubles if I actually took you seriously all the time. I probably know that better then anyone."

"Yes, I'd say that's a fair assessment," answered L slowly. _At least the last part. Despite my suspicions, I've opened up to you Light Yagami. It was a foolish move and I have the feeling you will use this against me. Originally I had planed to do the same to you but... _"But I could say the same about you."

Light's brow creased in confusion again. "Hmm? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tell me Light, from the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you've actually told the truth?" It was more an accusation then a question but that was how it was meant to be taken. Their eyes locked, and silence fell between them once again, a silence that even the pouring rain seemed to honor.

Finally Light broke it. "Where is this coming from Ryuzaki?"

_You know exactly where the reasons for my question are based. But still you will continue this act. _

"I do admit I stretch the truth here and there."

_No, you live in a world where the truth is "stretched" to the point that it is no longer recognizable. How though? How can you manage to live such a perfect lie?_

"However, find me one person in this world who's never had to tell a lie, it wouldn't be easy."

_Me. That wasn't so hard. There is a difference between having to and wanting to._

"Human beings just aren't made to be perfect like that. Everybody lies from time to time. Even so, I've always made a conscious effort to be careful not to tell a lie that could hurt others. That's my answer."

_You're not so good at that last part... _The bell sounded again. "I had a feeling you'd say something like that..." _But I think I was hoping for something different. _Another pause. "Let's go back inside. We're both drenched."

His answer was a bit uneasy. "Yeah"

_...DEatHNOtE..._

A lone figure stood at the base of the extremely tall building masquerading as an innocent office complex. Simmering green eyes stared up through the rain and dripping wet lashes to its peak where she almost imagined she could make out the silhouettes of two people, one slouched the other tall and proud. Perhaps it was just her eyes playing tricks on her or maybe her mind was just replaying the scene she'd witnessed countless times.

The dark figure took a deep slow breath much like a diver does before the plunge into the icy unknown. _So it all comes down to this. _High heels clicked on the wet pavement as the figure moved into the shadows. _One mistake here, and everything will be lost._

_...DEatHNOtE..._

The drops of water falling from the two teens' clothing and hair were strangely amplified in the shadowed stairwell, each individual drop echoing loudly off the cold metal looking walls and downward leading steps.

L walked nosily towards Light, white fluffy towel draped over his head, each footfall accompanied by a loud squelching noise. "Well that was certainly an unpleasant outing," he commented as he came to stand above Light who was busily drying his sandy hair.

"It's your own fault you know," responded Light in a slightly scolding manor. "I mean what did you expect?" He didn't bother to look up.

"You're right," said L quietly. _I could have prevented all of this couldn't have I? _"Sorry."

Light took this only to mean that L regretted getting him soaked. Perhaps that is what he meant, perhaps not. Either way, the former seemingly remained unconcerned with anything besides drying his hair.

L stared at him for a moment then suddenly pulled the barely damp towel from his still sodden black locks. Surprisingly silent, he moved down the steps and gently picked up Light's bare foot by means of his ankle, moving the towel towards his damp skin.

Light exhaled sharply completely shocked by his "friend's" actions. His voice and features almost portrayed fear. "What are you doing?!" _What __**is**_ _he_ _doing?_

L looked up innocently into Light's confused face as if what he was doing was perfectly normal. Honestly, _he_ wasn't even sure why he was doing this. "I thought I might help you out." Maybe it was some last feeble attempt to get through to him. "You were busy wiping yourself off anyway." _Do I still believe that it is even possible to do so? No...this is more a final act of kindness, a sort of farewell to the friend I'm never sure I really had. _

Still wary of his strange actions, Light attempted to brush him off. "Look it-it's fine, you don't have to do that."

"I can give you a massage as well," offered L, deciding it was best not to even try to understand the why, he had a feeling the answers might be unnerving... There was something about this particular moment. ..._and Light's eyes, they are more like they were been before...not so cold, hard, empty... _He decided to test this. "It's the least I could do to atone for my sins. I'm actually pretty good at this."

_What is he talking about? I know he suspects me of being Kira...Is he trying to say that he's sorry for opposing me?! But...that is so unlike him... Then...is he referring to getting me soaked? No that doesn't make any sense either. But that's Ryuzaki for you. He never really makes any sense... _Light looked away from the biggest and most confounding anomaly he'd ever known. "Fine," was his only answer. "Do what you want."

L sighed inwardly. "Alright." He didn't let any of his real emotions show through in his answer. _What happened to you Light? Is it possible that you have managed to deceive me so well? Deceive me to the point were, only a few weeks ago, the chances of you __**currently**_ _being Kira were zero percent? To the point where I was grasping blindly for evidence to support my fallen theory? ...to where I was actually convinced and ready to accept that you were a friend, __**my**__ friend, and not a psychotic murderer? _L moved his hand so that the towel barely caressed the underside of Light's foot. _...no...I think not. There was I time when you were __**not**_ _Kira. A time when I called you a friend...perhaps even a more but now... _L's hand shifted quickly, the gentle touch turning into a hard almost painful squeezing sensation.

Light inhaled sharply, the look on his face and the muffled grunt of pain making it apparent that the already awkward experience had now become painful as well. "Hey!" he exclaimed as the unpleasant sensations continued.

"You'll get used to it," was the only response L made.

A few silent seconds elapsed. L was right, the odd massage was actually becoming...pleasant. Well, at least it didn't really hurt anymore. Light allowed himself to relax. _Whatever game Ryuzaki's playing at—_actually, this didn't feel like one of his mind games. It felt real, sincere. There seemed to be no self incriminating trap involved. _It figures, the one time Ryuzaki's actually being completely straight forward, he does something crazy like this._

Drops of icy water fell from L's hair landed on the sensitive skin of Light's ankle, causing him to shiver reflexively. He sighed, at first feeling annoyed but as he looked at the slouched figure in front of him, another emotion pushed through to the surface: Pity..._Regret_. It caused Light to do a double take and then dismiss it as a mistake. Nevertheless, Light found himself picking up his towel and carefully moving it up to L's dripping hair. "Here, you're still soaked." His voice was unusually kind and Light almost blinked in surprise when he realized that it wasn't faked this time.

L looked up at Light once the towel had been removed. His eyes had an endless depth to them and Light found he was unable to look away, trapped by those darkly edged mysterious orbs. For or a moment or two, their eyes remained locked and Light was able to see all the sadness and loneliness L was holding inside of him.

L looked down breaking Light's stare. "I'm sorry." Those two words held more meaning then Light could ever hope to understand.

The silent seconds ticked by, each one seeming to last forever and yet not long enough. Light's mind was moving a million miles a second, trying yet unable to figure out why everything suddenly felt..._wrong_. Hell, a second ago everything was going along smoothly and victory had been in sight but now...

"It'll be lonely won't it?" questioned L, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

L looked up at Light again. "You and I will be parting ways soon."

Light was unable to hide the disbelief, _How? Does he...does he know? ...I guess...this is really it. I'm going to win..._

_...DEatHNOtE..._

_The security has been breached, wires tapped... _A long fingered hand touched the syringe that rested securely in a silk lined pocket_. Serum obtained, means of escape ready and waiting... _The gloved hand moved left to the smooth reassuring steel that signified the presence of the powerful 50 cal. Magnum, concealed beneath the folds of a dark fluttering cloak_. Locked and loaded. _"It's time to move," whispered smooth lips into a headset. "No mistakes. No screw ups. We only get one shot at this."_ Everything hinges upon these next few moments._

**_...DEatHNOtE..._**

AN: Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and Concrit is welcome.

-Asiera


	3. Venom

Disclaimer: I do not own the amazing story of the Death Note but I do have a very active imagination.

AN: Well that was a shorter break between chapters then I expected but that's a good thing right? I know this chapter's kinda short but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I think it's easier for me to write when I can put my own ideas in and not just stick to the original script.

One last thing before we start, I'd like to thank dancers of the night and SkywardShadow for reviewing. Also, the same goes for all of you who added me to your alerts/favorites. If you guys have any ideas, questions, comments, or concrit I'd love to hear it.

**Chapter II**

**Venom**

L's phone, the only one that was never silenced, rang, shattering this baffling moment much as a bullet does to a mirror; leaving the image that was displayed seconds ago on it's smooth surface irrevocably destroyed, its jagged pieces nigh impossible to reassemble, and thus forever losing the masterpiece that had once adorned them.

"Yes...I understand, I'm on my way," answered L, his voice as monotone as ever. There was a small "snap" as the phone was closed. "Come on, let's go Light-kun."

Light couldn't be sure, but it seemed that the fact that L had pointedly not looked back at him while he spoke was intentional.

L began to walk away. "It seems it's all worked out."

Light stood and followed young sleuth out, a look of perplexity still prevalent on his features as he tried in vain to decrypt the feelings that seemed content to flutter about his befuddled mind. A feeling of relief accompanied by a painful knot in his abdomen joined the chaotic whir as a strong gut feeling told him that he would never again be in the position to figure out this mystery. "_You and I will be parting ways soon..."_ The detective's words echoed through his already crowded mind. _Yes...and I'm pleased about that... Aren't I?_

The self proclaimed, future god's thoughts were forcibly put on hold as the pair entered the surveillance room and Matsuda's high worried tenor voice harshly brought him back to reality. "Ryuzaki! What is the meaning of all this? You've somehow gotten approval from another country to use the Note Book for an execution?"

Light's eyes widened. _Now?_

L, who was obviously unperturbed by Matsuda's accusing words or by the other's unhappy glares, chose to ignore all of them, sitting down in his usual strange, hunched over way in front of his computer, which was currently displaying an ornate W. "Watari, excellent work, thank you."

"Not at all," responded the kind voice on the other end.

Light shivered inwardly. Ever since L's phone had first rang, a growing feeling of... He shook his head. _Excitement. Excitement is all it is. And why shouldn't I be? Ryuzaki's finally gone too far, he's going to try and test the Note Book... _An unsteady but horrible grin began to twitch at the corner of his lips.

"First things first, please make arrangements to transfer the Note Book immediately," continued L, seemingly confident in his last stand. _This will either end my life or expose you Light. It's time to see who is really going to win._

"Right," answered Watari, sealing the deal.

"Ryuzaki, what are you trying to do?" questioned the inwardly smirking youth behind him, still perfectly playing the part of concerned friend. He wasn't planing on letting L know he had been right all along until the _very_ _last_ _second_...

L didn't look up, tapping a small silver spoon lightly on the page of the Note Book with a missing corner. "I'm going to try out the note book out for you." The gasps in the room were audible.

_Checkmate!_

_...DEatHNOtE..._

A dark cloak whooshed by, the momentum of the runner causing it to fly out behind her as she ran full speed down a deserted hallway, high heels clacking loudly against the marble floor. She glanced up momentarily at a tapped camera, which would only show an empty shadowy tunnel for the next five minutes, then down at her watch. _Just under forty five seconds left. _She picked up the pace.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

"We are very close!" L's harsh voice broke through the argument against him. "If we work this out, the _entire_ case will be solved!"

Thunder and lightning crashed, the room went dark, and the monitors turned red, bathing the room in horrific blood like color. Light looked to his right. Rem was gone. His breathing became faster, _This is it._

_...DEatHNOtE..._

The tall hunched white creature known as Rem had just finished writing the name _Quillsh Wammy_ and even as she felt her strength start to leave her she began to write the now shaky back of the first L, one thought pounding through her mind like a heart beat. _**Misa...**_

But even as the alien ink began to form the second L, a high heeled boot came flying up at lightning speed and with a loud crack, knocked the black book out of the Shinigami's hand. Equally as fast, a gloved hand shot out and grabbed the fluttering book from the air. _25 seconds._

Rem looked up in disbelief at this human who had and was managing to touch and hold her Death Note. It didn't make any sense but it did not matter, all that mattered now was Misa. If she was unable to complete her sacrifice and kill the detective that had been the cause of all these problems, Misa would be convicted as the second Kira and her life would end.

**"What are you doing human?!"** she yelled almost frantically at the hooded figure. **"Give that back, this has **_**nothing**_** to do with you!"**

"I'm afraid it does," spoke a smooth flowing voice from the darkness provided by the thick hood. _18 seconds. _"If I was to let things continue on there current course, Misa would not be _truly_ happy."

Rem gasped, _**How does she know?**_ But the Shinigami quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She didn't have time! Rem charged the mysterious human but underestimated her speed. The human ducked and slid left, allowing Rem's momentum and anger to carry her past. Then she took several hurried steps backwards taking her out of Rem's reach. _11__ seconds. _"Misa is blind to the truth, Light Yagami has become a monster and if she continues to follow him so blindly she will be driven to take her own life. As it is, she may still have hope."

Again Rem charged, and again the strange woman's agility took her and the note book out of Rem's grasp. _3 seconds. _"I know you loved her, you're trying to sacrifice yourself for her." She smiled behind her hood. "You passed the test."

Even as she spoke, Rem's body began to disintegrate, and with one last agonized yell of frustration, the Shinigami died, leaving behind a shimmering pile of sand that looked like powdered diamonds.

The woman did not stare for long, having under 40 seconds to complete her mission. "May this life be better then your last," she whispered softly as she held a lighter under the page with the double Ls on it's surface, letting the flames burn away the evidence that Rem's final act had been incomplete. Hopefully, the current Kira would take this to be a final defiant act by Rem to keep him from getting his hands on another Death Note. Being as egocentric as he was, he probably would. She released the partially scorched note book and it fell face down still slightly smoking into the shimmering pile of Rem's remains, its ashes mixing with hers.

Then in a flash, the woman was gone again, this time disappearing into one of the ventilation shafts, praying she'd reach L in time.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Five pairs of eyes looked frantically around the room, darting from screen to screen, all of which displayed the same massage: _All data deletion_. One of the frantic stares was faked. The final pair, L's charcoal one's, gazed steadily in front of him, a mask of calm hiding panic, grief, and sorrow. "I told Watari," he said slowly, "to make sure that he should erase all information...in the event that something were to happen to him." What the other's said in return was lost on L's mind. _Watari is dead, and I have no doubt...I'm next... Still, I have to play this out until the end. There is no point in surrendering now. _"Where is the Shinigami?!"

The sound of the quiet clang, caused by the metal grating hitting the floor that sealed off one of the ventilation shafts, built under the long desk to cool the many computers, was lost in the cacophony of panicked voices and the blaring of the now blank computers. _5 seconds. _She located her target almost immediately: the pale skin of L's bare foot. Hurriedly and silently she moved forwards under the concealing shadow of the long work desk that extended for the length of the computer bank. Once in place, her hand firmly gripped the syringe and she removed the cap with her teeth. _This is it, if I miss here..._ But she wouldn't miss.

"Everyone! The Shinigami—" L felt a slight sting on the inside of his ankle as the needle went home, the poison was released into his Long Saphenous vain and rocketed through his blood towards his heart.

The effect was almost immediate. The detective faltered in his words, his body stiffened, each heart beat echoing deafeningly in his ears. He couldn't breath, couldn't move. The small sugar spoon dropped from his shaking grip. His unresponsive body leaned left, and he fell.

The scene before Light seemed to play out in slow motion but instead of feeling nothing but the joys of sweet victory, it was tainted by another emotion that was surging up the surface, enveloping his now frozen limbs: Guilt. For an instant the part of him, the real him, broke through the bonds the Death Note had warped his mind to put in place and a single, awful, electrifying thought consumed him entirely: _What Have I __**Done**__?!_

These emotions caused him to leap forwards, grabbing the limp detective as he fell towards the floor and pull him close. But the hold of the Death Note was strong and slowly the look of shock and horror was replaced by nearly red eyes and a sadistic grin.

The day that monstrous grin would be warn openly for L to see, the day that the probability of Light being Kira was exactly at one hundred percent, was today._ God no... _He couldn't breath, each fast beat of his heart resonating painfully in his ears but worse he couldn't even close his eyes, couldn't lock out the most terrifying image he'd ever seen._ I can't breath!_

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: Yep, that's a cliffy. What did you think? Really, I want to know if this is any good or not. Also (for those of you who liked it) I've got the whole next chapter planned out and it might be posted sooner if I am inspired by amazing reviews.

-Asiera


	4. Four Shots

Disclaimer: I don't own a Death Note or the series (if I did you'd probably know about it.)

AN: And here is chapter three! I hope you all enjoy it, I'm having a lot of fun with it now that the story is really underway. Please keep reading and it'd be wonderful if you reviewed. It lets me know what you like or don't like about it, gives me ideas, and keeps me motivated. Thanks to jjwitdaheydittyditty, SkywardShadow, Translucent Darkness, and dancers of the night for reviewing, I really appreciate it!

**Chapter III**

**Four Shots**

Light's screams echoed throughout the building causing her to run faster. She glanced down at her watch and grimaced. _Damn__, I'm really beginning to __**hate**__ count downs and timed missions..._

_...DEatHNOtE..._

L stared blankly up at the dark ceiling, it was all he could do. Each passing second felt like a lifetime, a lifetime in which his lungs were on their knees begging, screaming for the precious oxygen that surrounded him. He tried desperately to move, to give Mogi, who was now the only other person in the room with him, any sign that he was still alive. He heard Mogi make a frantic phone call to someone, presumably the ambulance. They wouldn't get there in time. If he didn't start breathing within the next three and a half minutes, his brain would become permanently damaged and he would die.

_Was this Kir-Light's plan!? _He struggled within himself but it was no use. _To have me die like this!? Having the answer-the truth but be unable to speak it!? Oh God please!_

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Light leaned down and picked up Rem's discarded Death Note, frowning at the still slightly smoldering open page. He could see the name Quillsh Wammy written at the top and beneath it, he could just make out the partially burned shape of an L. _Foolish Shinigami. She must have tried to burn the Death Note to keep me from claiming ownership. _Light quickly shook out the rest of the embers and placed the notebook in his belt, tucking it under the back of his shirt. Then he called for the others.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

L was just beginning to slip out of consciousness when the doors to the surveillance room were slammed open and two EMTs ran in, one of them pushing a stretcher. The other man, who looked to be in his mid thirties, ran over to where L was laying in Mogi's iron grip. L felt a cold gloved hand check for a pulse.

_Thank God! _There was no way they could miss his heart's rapid beating. They would realize he wasn't dead and—

"I don't have a pulse!" shouted the man back to his two companions who were already hurrying to his side.

_What?!_

"He had a heart attack," said Mogi, his deep voice full of concern and grief.

_No! No I didn't! My heart is...fine! I just can't—_

The man who had falsely diagnosed heart failure told Mogi to move aside and leaned down placing his linked hands on the detective's chest, then suddenly, after what felt like a millennia, L's tortured lungs were given the air they burned for.

At first L was so relieved at the feeling of his stinging lungs being filled that he didn't notice that this CPR wasn't really CPR. The man who was currently breathing for him was barely pressing down on his chest. In fact, the only reason he seemed to be doing the chest compressions at all was for show. If L's eyes could have widened, they would have.

The response time for an ambulance in this city was nowhere near the time in which these people had gotten here and there was no way that a trained EMT, or anyone who cared to check, would have missed his heart beat. Also, he'd heard Mogi telling the people on the other end of the phone that he'd had a heart attack. They would have brought a crash cart with them and would be using a defibrillator instead of CPR. L had no idea how but it was impossible that these people didn't know he was alive and that somehow, they were involved in this.

_But how? And more importantly, **why**?_

"I'm not getting any response," said the man, stopping the transfer of air all too soon for L's liking. "Get him to the ambulance! Move!"

In a few seconds L's lithe form was lifted up onto the stretcher and he was rushed off through one of the many hallways. By the time they were outside and had reached the ambulance his lungs were burning again. One of the EMTs hurriedly began to open the back doors on the ambulance but froze after this was accomplished, staring intently and somewhat fearfully at something just outside of L's limited range of vision.

The young man, this one about in his early twenties attempted a shaky smile. "We got him. We managed to capture _L_!"

_Capture? What the **hell** is going on here?_

"I can see that," spoke a smooth dangerous voice laced with annoyance. This was not missed on the younger man who lowered his head. "Now both of you hurry and get up front, I want us at the destination point in under 20 minutes."

The boy nodded and he and the older man pushed L's stretcher into the back of the vehicle before slamming the doors and scrambling to the front. A moment later the ambulance started and began to speed off down the road.

The woman moved so that she was standing above L and looked down at him. She was tall but that was about all he could tell. Her slender body was covered in a thick dark cloak complete with a hood which covered her face in shadow.

She sighed when she saw the slight blue ting to L's normally alabaster skin. "I see those _idiots_ haven't been giving you enough air. Figures." In one quick fluid motion she leaned down so her lips were pressed against his, becoming the second person to breath for his now deficient lungs. She stayed in that position, continuing to breath for him for about forty seconds, enough time for his skin to return to normal color and his lightheadedness to dissipate.

She pulled back. "Better?" she asked.

_Well yes as in I don't feel as if I'm about to pass out right now, but no as in I still **can't breath**!_

She smirked almost knowingly and pulled out a syringe from a deep pocket in her cloak. "Neostigmine," she told him, flicking it with a leather clad finger, "to reverse the atracurium I gave you earlier."

_Atracurium? That's a drug used to induce paralysis isn't it? _He mentally gasped. _The prick I felt in my ankle! But that means... Did Light not try to kill me by use of the Shinigami? No...the look in his eyes...he was sure I was dying but..._

He felt the smooth touch of leather on his forearm as the strange woman pulled back the sleeve of his baggy t-shirt and deftly stuck the needle in pushing the plunger down.

"You should be back to normal in a few minutes so I'm going to need to keep giving you air in the mean time." She paused. "But first," she reached down into L's pocket, retrieving his cell phone. "Can't have you calling anyone now can I?" After she had finished confiscating his phone she again leaned down and pressed their lips together, sending a fresh wave of oxygen down his windpipe with each breath.

L winced inwardly. He didn't like being close to people, especially when he didn't know, let alone trust them, and this kind of contact was miles beyond his comfort zone. As far as he was considered, she was kidnapping him, though the why and how she managed to do so was still completely unclear. But it was put up with this or risk brain damage, as uncomfortable as it was, he'd take this. _As if I have another option._

The strange girl waited patiently for the World's Greatest Detective to regain movement, seemingly undaunted by the position she was forced to remain in in order to keep L breathing. Well, except for the fact that standing like this in a moving shifting vehicle was difficult and her back was beginning to ache. She shifted her position placing her hands and forearms on either side of L's face in order to keep her balance. She was rewarded by a slight uncomfortable shift in the detectives' form and the light sensation of his lashes against her cheek. She smiled and stood up. "Can you breath?" she asked calmly.

In response L began to cough and sputter and eventually, to take in deep gasping breaths.

"Well that's an improvement," stated the hooded figure. "What about movement?"

But L was already attempting to sit up. His movements were shaky and he was barely able to manage it. Movement wasn't what was really important to L though. If he could breath he could talk and if he could talk he could hopefully get some answers.

His voice was slow and a bit raspy but he continued anyway. "Are...are you working for...K-Kira?"

A soft chuckle drifted out from under the hood. "That's pretty original. I was expecting something like, 'Who are you?' or, 'What do you want?'."

L's voice got stronger as he continued talking. "Answer the question, are you working for him or not."

She leaned in closer and whispered, glancing up at the front where the two men sat as she did so. "No, if I was working for Light Yagami then I wouldn't have wasted all that time, risked my life getting you out of there, and then put all of that effort into making him believe that he'd succeeded in killing you now would I?" Again she looked towards the front. "But that's all I can say about this now L. If you want to live, you're going to have to _trust_ me."

L's eyes widened. _She knows Light is Kira! But how. Does this mean that she is working for him? But that doesn't make any sense. By the way Light looked at me in the end... I'm absolutely positive that Light thought I was dead and according to her, she had planned it that way._ So Light had had no idea of this woman or her role in all of this. Yet she knew Light... _Well, she was able to sneak into the building undetected, perhaps she managed to get hold of my reports_. He shook his head, that was also extremely unlikely. It seemed the great detective would have to wait a little longer for the answer to this mystery.

The hooded woman's voice became hard and cold. "He's up! How long until we arrive?!" she called up.

"'bout two minutes," the older of the two men called back.

She nodded then turned back to L, her voice becoming a whisper once again. "It's my mission to _save_ you L, and I'm not about to fail now."

L shuddered. She was trying to get him to trust her but whether he could or not was another story all together. If he wanted to find out, he'd have to cooperate. Besides, what other choice did he have right now? It wasn't like he could take all three of them out in the state he was currently in. And the woman, there was something about her that made him uneasy, something that made him believe that there was much more to her then met the eye. The way she moved, it was almost cat-like. She was either a professional dancer or highly skilled in one or more of the martial fighting styles. For now his best bet was to stay calm, regain his strength and try to figure out exactly what was going on and who these people were.

After a few more minutes of driving, the ambulance slowed and pulled off the main highway entering an old abandoned shipyard on the outskirts of town. If possible the storm seemed to be worse here than it was in the city.

L heard the front doors open and close, moments later the back ones were yanked open as well. The two men entered quickly, bringing with them an icy cold biting wind before slamming the double doors behind them. The older of the two looked at L and nodded appreciatively. "I gotta hand it to ya Lady," he said grinning and turning towards her. "When you say you'll do somthin' you mean it."

"Yeah," piped up the second, his higher pitched voice clashing with the others deep base. "When you approached us saying you knew the identity of the infamous L and promised us that you could capture him we thought you were crazy, but now..."

"Yes well, we still have a long way to go if we want to get the ransom money," she responded almost boredly.

_Ransom money?_

"What say you we get this over with." With that she somewhat roughly pulled L out of the bed and forced him to kneel on the ground in front of her. L tried to struggle but she was stronger than she looked. In fast strong motions she tightly bound his hands behind his back and then his ankles together, finally she gagged him. Then he saw one of the men pull out and begin to focus a small camcorder.

"Wait till the world gets a look at this! If they wanna even have a chance of catching Kira, they're gonna have ta pay millions!"

_They're going to make a video and show it to the world demanding pay for my safe return! That's insane! The world won't believe that I'm L! But Kira...Light will know instantly and if they show my face, Misa will kill me within the hour! Even __**they**__ must be aware that the second Kira can kill with just a face! _He turned to look at desperately at the woman standing above him. _Someone intelligent enough to break into headquarters must be smart enough to figure that out! And why would she go to such great lengths to fake my death and "save" me, then turn around and do something like this?! What is going on here?!_

She sighed in annoyance placing both hands on her hips, fingers just underneath the folds of her cloak. "Just tell me when to start."

"Okay," he answered smiling greedily. "Ready and three...two...one...Action!"

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

The second the recording light had gone on there was a flash of silver behind L's head and three consecutive shots rang out deafeningly loud next to his ears. The first shredded through the camera completely destroying the devise and the DVD inside. The other two tore cleanly through the two men's skulls, causing blood and brain matter to spatter grotesquely across the back doors. The two lifeless bodies of her accomplices slid down the metal doors, leaving a trail of crimson blood behind them.

"Idiots," she muttered as she holstered her two twin magnums. She then bent down and undid the restraints on the detective.

L's already wide eyes stared aghast at the gruesome scene before him, and he found that he was unable to look away from the now lifeless gazes of the two men before him. While L was pleased that he was not going to die because of their poorly thought out and greedy scheme, he was completely blown away by this woman's sudden and quite drastic actions. Again the question that had been pounding in his head ever since her appearance resurfaced: _Who on earth was she and what in God's name were her motives?_

As soon as the gag came off L opened his mouth which was brimming over with questions. They were stopped from spilling over by a smooth finger.

"I know you have a countless number of questions but they will have to wait a little longer. As soon as we leave this place though, I promise to answer as many as I can. Now," she continued, lowering her hand. "Please proceed outside through the front and wait there for me. Oh, and don't run off. As far as I see it you really have no where to go and I really don't want to have to chase after you in this storm."

L hurriedly obeyed, not wanting to stay back here with the corpses a second longer. He crawled a bit clumsily past the pieces of medical equipment, up over the front seat and then clambered out of the car into the torrential downpour outside. L considered running for it. He could always go back to the Wammy House. _Wammy..._ the name caused all planes of escape to become erased from his mind. An icy cold feeling washed over him and he was sure it wasn't from the rain. He hadn't really had time to think on Watari's death and now really wasn't the time to start but despite the ill timing, the reality of losing the closest thing he had to a father and the only person whom had ever truly loved him, came crashing down on him.

"Watari," he murmured softly as he looked up to the heavens. The rain drops blending with the tears now running down his face. "I'm sorry...I thought the bells were for me...but they were ringing for you." He looked down at the filthy ground, the rain trying futilely to wash away the mud of the earth. "I never thought that Kira would go so far as to kill you...I'm so sorry."

L heard the sound of an engine starting and glanced up just in time to see the cloaked woman jump back from the ambulance as it sped down a wooden pier before crashing into the deep dark churning water, carrying the two bodies with it. Presumably she had set a rock on the gas pedal, racing the vehicle to its watery grave.

She began to walk back towards him. If he wanted even a 23% chance of getting away he'd have to run now but the sleuth's curiosity got the better of him and he stayed where he was. It was logical to assume that she'd have killed him already if she had planned to and since he was "dead" she couldn't use him as leverage against the task force. The only logical solution then was that she wanted to help him. At least, it was a 87% possibility.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Lightning crashed causing wicked shadows to dance along the hallways, shadows that reflected the twisted nature of the one who walked them. His footsteps echoed off its cold surface, he wore a near demonic grin upon his usually handsome face, and his eyes almost seemed to glow with an eerie red light._I've gotten rid of everything in my way. I am the **God** of the New World!_

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: So what'd ya think? If you review you get an apple. Hurry and click the button before Ryuk eats them all!

-Asiera


	5. L Is Dead

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any related materials.

AN: I big thank you to Rin5o, jjwitdaheydiddyditty, SkywardShadow, Translucent Darkness, and dancers of the night for reviewing. Sorry for the wait but graduating high school and officially becoming an adult takes up a lot of time. Anyway, on with the story, I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter IV**

**L Is Dead**

L's gray eyes continued to scrutinize the woman's cloaked form as she advanced. She had almost completely closed the distance between them when she spoke, "Come on. The faster we get out of here, the sooner you can get the answers to all those questions you have buzzing around your head." Her words were quick and she never stopped walking, continuing on past L's stationary form, but her voice was soft and sounded as though it was laced with concern. As if she understood what he was going through and was sorry for his pain, his loss.

The detective wasn't sure he bought it but the prospect of getting those answers was too tantalizing for him to pass up. So without another word L turned and followed this mysterious woman over to one of the many towers of giant shipping crates that made up the monotonous scenery of their current location.

At first glance, this container seemed no different than the rest but another look from the sleuth's perceptive eyes took in the advanced security device located next to its handle.

"The place has been abandoned for years," she informed him as her slender gloved fingers began to type in the code, "but no one's bothered to clear out the old cargo boxes. It's a very good place to store things you don't want anyone to know about or locate."

There was a quite beep and then the sound of a heavy electronic lock being released. She tightly griped and rotated the heavy handle. Then with a muffled grunt, heaved the large door open. Intrigued, L peered inside and found himself surprised for about the hundredth time today. Though the light was dim he could just make out the shape of a sleek very sporty looking car.

The strange girl quickly entered the steel container, anxious to get out of the cold rain. L followed slowly, taking a closer look at what he assumed to be their means of transportation. "I must congratulate you on the ingenuity and cunning you have demonstrated thus far," commented L, his eyes lingering on the metallic black body of the vehicle. "But I have to ask, how do you intend to continue to remain undetected in a 2002 Mustang Saleen?"

L thought he detected a smirk in her voice as she responded. "Actually she's an '04 but I'm surprised you were so close. Tell me L, is there any area to which your expertise does not extend?" she asked as she opened the left driver's side door and slid inside.

L followed her lead sighing inwardly at the backwards configuration of American cars. "Very few, but already you are failing to answer my questions."

She chuckled slightly, "Forgive me but I thought the world's most infamous detective would be familiar with the philosophy of hiding in plain sight. But by all means, begin your interrogation as I'm sure that is what you are dying to start."

L opened his mouth, pleased to finally have a chance to voice his many inquiries but her current actions stopped him from continuing. In one fluid motion she had pulled down her hood and removed her cloak, throwing it past him into the back seats. Once the heavy garment had been discarded a shimmering waterfall of long icy blond hair was unleashed, falling silkily over her slender shoulders and two thirds of the way down her long back. But it was seeing her face, or rather, not seeing it that had caused the detective to falter. Her features were concealed behind an ebony mask made of the same shinny leather that covered almost every inch of her body. In fact, the only places where her creamy white skin became visible was on her long neck, her smooth forehead, and the bottom third of her face.

L's storm cloud eyes locked with ones of an impossible deep emerald color. They seemed to peer down through his own, delving deep into his very soul. Never before had L met a stare so piercing. It made even him feel uncomfortable, as if he sat completely exposed and naked before her while she in turn revealed nothing.

After several tense moments she broke it, turning her fierce gaze out the tinted windshield, a small, sad, almost awed smile on her rosy lips. "You truly are the symbol of untainted, incorruptible justice," she whispered almost inaudibly.

L shook his head to clear it causing his feathery raven locks to fly wildly about his head. "Who are you?"

She smirked in an amused sort of way still staring ahead. "I had a feeling you start by asking one of the questions I can never answer. I know my asking you to trust me without giving you a name or a face is a lot to ask but unfortunately that is the situation."

L frowned, displeased with her answer. "Then can you at least tell me why you 'saved' me and what you intend to do now?"

"I saved you because Kira was intending to kill you but you must have deduced that on your own."

L's voice remained unemotional, "That is the reason I was in _need_ of saving, not the reason you saved me."

She closed her eyes for a second an 19 year old image running through her mind _**"**__**A savior for the rotten savior of a rotten world..." **_She almost violently shoved the key into the ignition and turned it, the sports car coming to life with rumbling growl."Because without you, this world is lost. You're the only one who is capable of stopping Kira's evil and _changing_ it."

L stayed silent for several moments as she began to back out of the shipping container. "How did you know? I assume you were able to hack into our security system and perhaps my notes on the case but how did you know to do it."

"I have been following the Kira case and your involvement in it for quite sometime now. Once I found out what he was planning, I moved in to prevent your death."

_She did not hesitate to answer. This means she is either telling the truth or has planned out this lie perfectly..._ "And you were able to discover that Kira-that Light was going to use the Shinigami to accomplish my defeat?"

"Yes, but I had information that you didn't. The Shinigami was the previous owner of _Misa's_ Death Note. This Shinigami, Rem, she had feelings for Misa and—"

"Light used Misa as bait to get me to test the 'Thirteen Day Rule' and therefore force Rem's hand," finished L, wincing as the realization hit him. "But how did you stop her? Can you kill a Shinigami? I had guessed that killing a 'God' of Death would prove impossible."

L was pushed back in his seat by the momentum as the car accelerated out of the ship yard and out onto some empty road. "Yes, you can. See, a God of Death's only purpose is to extend their lives on infinity by taking that life from the humans they kill with their Death Notes. But when a Shinigami cares for a human and uses its Death Note to _extend_ that human's life, they fail as Gods of Death and die." She left her explanation at that knowing she wouldn't have to and shouldn't say anything more. L would be able to understand from just that.

When L spoke again his voice was slightly quieter. "So...when Rem...killed Watari...she extended Misa's life and only had forty seconds left to live."

She nodded her head causing some of her blond locks to fall in her eyes. "I know what you will ask next, but no, I'm sorry. I couldn't have saved him."

L did not respond for a moment just staring out the side window at the rapidly passing scenery. "Light now has Rem's Death Note correct?"

"Yes, but I burned the page that would have contained your name making it look like she tried to keep him from claiming it. Light Yagami will never know."

"How...how do you know so much about this?"

"There have been other Kiras in the past. Let's just say I was intimately familiar with one of them."

By the tone of her voice he could tell that she didn't want to and probably would not elaborate. But how that was possible he was not sure. He didn't think a killer like Kira could go unnoticed for long and from what he could see of her face, this girl could be no older than twenty. He seriously doubted that _he _would miss an earlier Kira even if the normal law enforcement had. But there would be a time to ponder over that later. Right now he should stop looking back and focus on what would happen next.

"So what do you plan to do now...forgive me but I'm not sure what to call you."

She laughed. "Just call me, 'Lady'. It's a pretty general term that doubles quite well as a name. It's what I've been going by for the past few months anyway."

"Yes...that is what that one man called you isn't it..." The gory scene from earlier flashed through his mind. "Why did you kill them?"

She took a curve rather sharply causing L to be pressed against the passenger side door. "They were greedy heartless bastards. Criminals who got out on 'good behavior' and then just went back to doing the same old thing." She down shifted when she realized she had been going well over the speed limit. "Sorry, it's just working with them, hearing them brag about their repulsive behavior...it was sometimes hard not to just do something about it then."

"It sounds as though you sought them out specifically for those qualities," responded L, narrowing his eyes at how her speech seemed to mimic the ideals of a certain _other_.

"I did. The one thing I've learned in my life is that trusting others is a mistake. They'll always disappoint you. I knew that if I didn't eliminate the people who knew you were still alive besides me, then everything could be lost. I couldn't take that risk. So I purposely found the most disgusting, vial criminals I could; that way, killing them wouldn't be so bad."

L frowned. Her logic was sound, disturbing, but sound, perhaps even necessary. "You have gone to great lengths to protect me but what about the ambulance? If you stole It, then—"

"It was a salvage. We got it out of a junk yard and rebuilt it. It won't be missed."

_Clever... _"And my body?"

She sighed. "That was the fourth member of our little group. We induced a heart attack with a massive potassium injection. It won't be noticed, the coroners don't know what you look like, and the Task Force isn't going to reopen 'your' casket if they don't suspect anything. Everything has been taken into account and dealt with. As far as the world is concerned—

_...DEatHNOtE..._

—L is dead." the aging man called Roger uttered breathlessly. He was barely able to look up at the two children before him. The first sat kneeled on the ground, one leg curled up to his chest. He continued to methodically solve the blank puzzle before him as if this horrible news had not effected him in the slightest. The other became rigid, his green eyes wide with fear and shock.

"He's dead?! But-but how?!" he asked frantically, slamming both his hands on the desk and leaning closer as if begging Roger to tell him it was a lie. "Was it Kira? Did Kira kill him?!"

Roger remained silent for a moment, hoping that it would help to calm the young boy down. It didn't.

"Come on Roger, you've _got_ to tell me!" he yelled getting even closer his green orbs flashing with anger and doubt.

"Probably," whispered the elderly man sadly.

Desperately the blond boy grabbed Roger's shirt collar. "But he promised me he'd find Kira and execute him," he shouted as if anger and yelling could somehow bring his fallen mentor back, "and now your telling me...that he's been killed?!"

"Mello!" pleaded Roger. He had known that this news would effect the boy greatly but he had never expected it to be this bad.

There was the sound of many puzzle pieces clattering to the floor. Mello released Roger and turned to look at the white haired boy on the ground who was holding the emptying puzzle board above his head. Once all the pieces had fallen out of the board he lowered it and then began to tirelessly replace them. "If you can't win the game, if you can't solve the puzzle, than you're just a loser."

Mello let out an angry breath, annoyed at how true those words rang in him and how easily Near could get over the fact that L had been killed, how nothing really seemed to matter to him, well, nothing except his puzzles.

Mello turned away from the white haired boy on the floor, back to Roger, whose always sad eyes seemed even sadder than usual. _At least __**he**_ _feels something._ "So, which of us did L pick, me or Near?"

"He hadn't chosen yet," came the answer, "and now that he's gone I'm afraid he won't be able to."

Mello sighed exasperatedly. _Could this day get any worse?_

"Mello listen," said the old man in a soothing voice, "you too Near, can't the two of you work together?"

"All right. Sounds good," answered Near, not taking his eyes off his puzzle for even a second or faltering in his perfect placing of the pieces.

The older boy's face became twisted in disgust and frustration. "It'll never work Roger," his voice shook as he spoke. "We can't do this together, you know I _don't_ get along with Near." _Boy was that an understatement, _he thought seethingly. "We've always competed against each other..._always_." _And yet no matter how hard I try...._ He clenched his fists. _Near always comes out on top._

The only thing that interrupted the cold oppressive silence making Mello want to scream, was the constant clicking of Near's stupid jigsaw puzzle and that only succeeded in strengthening the urge. Mello's green eyes flicked to the window just in time to see a strong wind blow the last remaining leaf off of the now bare tree outside. Poetic wasn't Mello's style but it fit. It was time to move on, there was nothing left for him in this place.

"You know what? It's fine. Near should be the one to succeed L. He's not like me, he never gets emotional. He just uses his head, like it's a game or a puzzle."

The clicking stopped as Near fit the last piece of the puzzle in, completing the L that adorned the top left hand corner of the otherwise empty white pieces.

"And as for me," Mello's voice became even more cold, "I'm leaving this institution." With that the young boy turned and began to walk away for the last time.

Quickly Roger stood up from his chair, extending a hand after the conflicted boy. "Wait! Mello!"

"Don't waste your breath," he answered, not even turning or stopping as he walked past Near. "I'm almost fifteen years old. It's time I started living my _own_ life," he said as much to Near as to Roger. And he was gone. Another piece of the ever changing puzzle had fallen exactly where it should have.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

"So what do we do now, Lady?" Asked L staring intently at the winding road ahead.

"We do whatever it takes to stop Kira's evil and change this rotten world."

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: So, what'd ya think? Reviews and concrit are greatly appreciated. So how about for a birthday present you leave me one eh?

-Asiera


	6. Infiltration

Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note, but that doesn't really come as a surprise to anyone now does it?

AN: Thank you dancers of the night, Dei Riktur, and SkywardShadow for the reviews, they are seriously what keep me writing.

Well I hope you enjoy the story and the short update that accompanied it!

**Chapter V**

**Infiltration**

**May 2009: "Kira's judgment starts gaining momentum. The world's reaction to Kira is divided among those who scream in fear and those who cheer him on. More and more the latter are emerging. And finally, not only do many publicly proclaim that "Kira is justice" but some countries even express their acceptance of Kira. The world continues towards a dark era where Kira is the law." **

..._DEatHNOtE_...

Lady sighed and threw down the paper on the desk top so the emboldened letters forming the title "_Is Kira Justice?_" glared up at the slouched detective who sat at it. He tore his gray eyes away from the computer screen which he had been blankly staring at for the past several hours and glanced down at the newspaper, then up at his strange, ever masked and leather clad partner. She had taken her customary seat on the small couch located by the computer escritoire, one long leg semi extended across its surface the other resting on the wooden floor. She supported herself by means of her two slender arms propped casually behind her back.

"That editor's lucky. I'm actually surprised that Kira hasn't started killing people for just _disagreeing_ with him," Lady mused as she looked half haphazardly towards the dingy ceiling of their small two bedroom apartment.

L sighed uninterestedly and, placing another of the gummy worms that littered his workspace into his mouth, directed his attention back towards the glowing screen. "I assume there were no new developments?" he questioned in a monotone voice.

"Nothing." She confirmed, turning her green eyes on him. "But it's not like staking out the building is going to accomplish much. We can't put wires or cameras inside because the security is too high. Heck, the Task Force can get closer to him than I can. If we go on like this we are _never_ going to get the evidence we need to put Kira behind bars," she finished exasperatedly.

"It's because he is no longer being pressured," commented L as he stretched one of the edible worms out to five times it's natural length between his two hands. "Light no longer feels cornered so he sees no need to take risks and will not make any foolish mistakes. And as it is," the detective continued, nipping the stretched material, causing the two extended halves to snap back towards their respective ends where they hung limply, "we are not in a position to apply that pressure."

Lady raised an eyebrow noting that his usual unemotional voice contained the slightest edge of excitement to it. She tilted her head back and to the side attempting to see around L's hunched form. She was unsuccessful. "You find anything?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could manage.

"As a matter of fact I have," he stated as he angled his head back and dropped half of the tortured gummy creature inside his open mouth. "It could be a golden opportunity for us," he said as he chewed. "Lady, do you think you could find a way to get us and all the important equipment—" he gestured around him "—into LA unnoticed?"

"You mean America?" she asked in confusion. "Why would you want to move _away_ from Kira?"

"I'm not going to," he answered spinning around in his chair so that he was facing her. "I'm just anticipating his next probable move and preparing for it." He placed the tip of the worm's other half between his lips and began sucking on it.

"But why would Kira travel to America?" She contorted her body more, still trying to see past him; she was again unsuccessful. "What _exactly_ did you find out?"

His eyes narrowed for a split second. "'We can't put wires or cameras inside because the security is too high'?" He quoted completely changing the subject.

Lady sighed, she hated it when he did that. "What about it?" she inquired, aware that unless she answered what ever question he was now intrigued with, the conversation would not progress any further.

"Are you saying," he wondered curiously, taking tiny bites of the morsel hanging from his lips, "that the security in Light's apartment is greater then that of my old head quarters?"

"No, but those were two totally different situations," she stated defensively. "In the case of your old base of operations, no one was expecting any form of surveillance taps, whereas in _this_ situation, Light is already on all alerts and has installed multiple wire tap detectors around his and Amane's room just in case the Task Force tries to discover something they shouldn't."

"Sounds like it would make things challenging but not impossible," shrugged L finishing off the unfortunate worm and reaching for another.

Lady strengthened up and folded her arms. "I suppose, but one slip up and we would completely lose the element of surprise and the chance to catch Kira unawares. Plus you'd need an expert hacker to—"

"Just as _you_ would have needed to get into my building and my case files," interrupted L smirking, "and judging by what you just said, I'm guessing _you,_ are not."

_Damn he's good..._ "Okay, so what if I'm not."

L grinned_. _"Well it means you'd have to have hired one of course and since I did a complete background check on the three men you killed four years ago, I am well aware that none of them could have pulled it off. So either you are lying about you hacking abilities, which I seriously doubt, or...there was a fourth."

She rolled her eyes, living with a master detective like L, was at times, impossible; everything was a potential case to him. "Yes, I hired a computer whiz and did not kill him afterwards. _No_, he didn't know what he was hacking into or the implications behind it, _or_ that you are still alive. Not to mention I only met him face to face—or in my case—mask once."

"Do you recall a name?"

She shook her blond head. "Not his real one, I believe he was smart enough to use an alias. He went by the name Matt and the syndicate I worked for used to swear by him."

L looked down at the new found candy in his hand so as not to let his eyes give him away. He clearly remembered a certain young red headed gamer that followed around the elder of his two successors. This Matt was one of the few that could have managed such an advanced task. _Then this may not be so challenging after all but the fact that she and apparently others were able to meet and "hire" him while he was still attending Wammy's House is a bit disturbing... _He swung around again to reface his computer. "Lady come look at this."

She stood and walked the few feet to L's computer glad that the little interrogation was over._ I knew Mail Jeevas would come up one day but it wasn't as if I could've use my usual informant. What does L want with him anyway? _she wondered as her green eyes took in the web page displayed on the screen. They widened when she realized what she was looking at. It seemed to be the internal database of the FBI and the highlighted information was a vague report detailing some organization dubbed the SPK—Special Provision for Kira.

"You intend to use _them_ to pressure Light into making that little error we're counting on?" she asked after a few moments of studding.

L looked at her with his wide gray eyes as he beheaded another worm. "There is no need to _use_ them, I am sure that they they will begin to pressure Kira on their own." He put the rest of the sweet in his mouth. "I simply want to be there when it all goes down."

She narrowed her eyes hating to feel like she wasn't on the same page as L. That happened a lot... "Why would you think Kira would go to the SPK? It seems to me that it would be a rather stupid move on his part."

"Hmm, it would be," he stated searching around the open bag for a specific color. "But if I'm right—and I usually am—then my second successor will not be far from the first and once he sees how close Successor-Number-One is to nipping at Kira's heels, Successor-Number-Two will act quickly to beat him to it. Odds are," he continued, finding the sought after sweet, "that his actions will set the three parties on a collision course and I'd like to be present when they meet."

"Okay..."

"Also," he said once again meeting her eyes, "since Successor-Number-Two's actions tend to be rather rash and emotion based, I'd like you to keep an eye on him."

"Oh?"

"Taking into account that you have already met one of his most trusted allies, I believe it will be much less complected than I had originally thought."

"Wow," she whistled once her quick mind put together who L was referring to, a bit awed by the circumstances, "and I though Fate was just a video game."

"Perfect," said L grinning in his odd way. "See? You already know how to best communicate with him."

She grimaced. "If I come back with a dislocated thumb or lung cancer from second hand smoking, _you're_ paying the medical bill."

_That sinks it, the Matt she met is definitely the one I knew whom attended Wammy's House. Except, back then, he was yet to become addicted to the disgusting things... _"Oh I believe those will be the least of your worries," stated L somewhat slyly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not at all sure she liked the way he said that.

"I believe my second successor has become deeply involved in the Mafia."

Her jaw dropped. "Come again?"

"I was a bit shocked myself," muttered L worrying the tip of his thumb between his lips. "But the information is sound."

_It's finally all coming together... But make no mistake L, I'll be ready when the time comes. _She let out a deep breath. "So arrange transportation to LA huh? Would boat be Okay? I think it would be less conspicuous."

L went back to typing on the lap top. "That's fine, just be warned, I tend to get sea sick."

Lady wrinkled her nose as she pulled her computer from under the couch and began to work on composing the fake IDs and passports. "That will be pleasant."

"Not really, I find it to be quite the opposite."

..._DEatHNOtE_...

Several weeks later found Mello sprawled out comfortably on the nicest of the tattered couches that were placed carelessly around the somewhat damp living room of the Mafia's current hideout. He grinned and bit off another hunk of the milk chocolate bar in his gloved hand, grinning as he savored its rich taste. He was, for the moment, content. He plan was flawless, every contingency taken into account and prepared for. _Even that big headed twit Near couldn't mess this one up_. The thought caused his grin to widen. _He_ was going to win this time.

Mello's happy musings didn't last long however, they were brought to an abrupt halt by a rather exasperated Matt storming noisily into the room. "Are all the guards and security really necessary?" he huffed as he crossed the floor, followed by the ever present smoke cloud which emanated from the cigarette between his lips. "I mean, couldn't you at least tell them that _I_ don't need to go through the whole rigmarole? Seriously."

"What do you want Matt?" sighed Mello trying and ignore his best friend's complaints, instead choosing to focus on the chocolate bar he was now running over with his pink tongue.

"Look at this," Matt fumed throwing down a newspaper clipping onto his friend's lap.

Mello's green eyes took in small article detailing the death of yet another top ranking criminal. Cause of death: heart attack. "Damn," he muttered.

"That is the _sixth_ partner this year!" stormed Matt. "Between the Kira, the police, and your outrageous missions..." He trailed off and sucked deeply on his cigarette. "This is really starting to be a pain in the ass. Who is suppose to accompany me in the kidnapping? That's in three days!" For emphasis he held up three of his fingers in front of Mello's face. "_Three Days_!"

Mello waved his hand dismissively, shooing away Matt's hand as well as the smoke. "What are you so upset about? The next runner up will just fill his place. We can have him briefed and ready in 24 hours."

"What so he can die in two weeks?" questioned Matt plopping down on the couch next to Mello. "Uh uh, I've had it with this. You realize how hard it is and how long it takes to get comfortable enough to trust the person your working with, to _really_ be able to work with them?"

"Nope, can't say I do," said Mello unemotionally. "Seeing as how I don't really trust anyone, it hasn't ever been a problem for me."

Matt rolled his eyes but was starting to smile again. "Ouch, that hurts man."

"Hmm?" questioned Mello looking completely clueless. "Oh!" he exclaimed in mock surprise once he'd turned to look at Matt's somewhat amused face. "Well you don't really count as a human Matt so don't take offense. You're more like...a highly oiled machine."

"That's cold," laughed Matt. "But all jokes aside, I really do need a partner who ain't gonna die by the end of the month. Someone who's skilled enough to make it through your crazy missions, won't get caught by the boys in blue, and has enough sense to keep their identity secret from Kira."

"As always," responded Mello taking another bite of chocolate, "you're living in a fantasy."

Matt screwed up is face. "I thought you'd say something along those lines but not this time. I've actually got someone in mind."

"Whatever," said Mello uninterestedly, "take whomever you want. I really have minimal use for the Mafia at this point anyway."

Matt grinned. "She ain't from the Mafia."

For the first time that evening Mello fixed Matt with a serious look. "_She_? And this person isn't even a member? Have you lost your mind?"

"Nope," said Matt shaking his head as he pulled out a PDA from his vest pocket. After clicking a few times with the pointer causing a small file to appear on the glowing screen, he passed the devise to the unamused Mello. The file was probably the smallest Mello had ever seen and contained no picture or any other form of identification. In fact, most the stuff on here seemed to be urban legend.

"She's never been caught by anybody and no one knows who she is. Some people call her the 'Masked Lady'. But its a known fact that she busted up one of the biggest drug cartels down on the Mexican border and, based on what I could dig up, she played a major part in some of the biggest illegal weapons deals in recent history. She's the best at what she does," he finished happily.

Mello looked at Matt with skeptical eyes. "Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me and even if this mystery woman exists, how the hell do you expect to locate her?"

Matt grinned widely pleased that for once he knew something that Mello didn't aside hidden game levels or programing codes. "I know she exists, because..." he paused for affect, "I've _met_ her."  
Mello raised an eyebrow. "_You've_ met her?" he asked sceptically.

"Yep. Actually I did a job for her back in '04 about a month before you left."

"Oh?" he commented taking another hunk of chocolate between his teeth. "And what job would that be."

Matt shrugged deeming the information to be unimportant. "Some monumental hacking job on an office building with sky high security. Disabling the alarms, looping a few cameras, and jacking a couple of phones."

"Hmm," mused Mello, noting with suspicion the close proximity of this "job" and his mentor's death. He shook his head. _Now I'm just being paranoid._ "Okay, so let's say that she _does_ exist and you _have_ met her. What makes you think someone like her, a master at staying undetected and unknown, will even be possible to contact?"

Matt's eyes almost glittered. "Because, I have this," he announced producing a sleek red phone and clicking a button so that a 21 digit number was displayed on the screen. "When she had me upload the building's codes into her phone, I took the liberty of looking up her number." Matt announced proudly. "I figured it might come in handy one day seeing as how skilled an agent she was and," he shrugged, "she was hot."

"I though you said she never shows her face."

"She didn't...we're talking body type here."

Mello laughed. This whole thing was stupid, not to mention pointless. "Why would you think she'd even be carrying the same phone?"

"I don't know," admitted Matt leaning back into the couch. "But what's the harm in trying? If it doesn't work out I'll just go with..." he counted mentally, "Plan:G. Like you said."

"Whatever," Mello agreed not wanting to argue any more. Besides, he seriously doubted that anything would come of Matt's latest scheme.

"Cool," grinned Matt springing up from the sofa. "I'll tell you when I have a meeting date and location."

"Right," was his sarcastic response as he finished off the candy bar.

..._DEatHNOtE_...

Lady collapsed exhaustedly down on the hotel bed. While working with L was probably the most interesting and rewarding, not to mention legal, thing she'd done in her life, it had it's ups and downs. The worst of these downs thus far had to be the fetching and dumping of the buckets the green tinged detective had quite often needed throughout the cruise. But she had to admit, the fact that L trusted her enough to even allow her to see him in such a weakened and undignified state made the experience much less horrible.

She was just thinking how nice it would be to take a long relaxing shower when her phone rang. Now for most people, a ringing phone wouldn't be much cause for alarm, but considering that L was the only person currently alive that Lady was aware knew her number and that at the moment said detective was busily setting up their equipment—obviously _not_ on the phone—the situation worried her a bit.

Hesitantly she opened the slender black devise. She didn't recognize the number, but judging from the area code, it was American. "Hello?" she questioned in English, this action alone causing L to turn around and watch her with intrigued eyes. "Who is this?"

"Hey," greeted a cocky sounding masculine voice and Lady had the strange impression that whomever it was on the other end was silently celebrating the winning of a bet.

Lady's sharp ears picked up the sound of electronic beeping in the background and she considered the possibility that this person was trying to trace the call. If that was the case, she should hang up immediately but there was no denying the fact that she was more then a little curious as to who had managed to get her number. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she questioned, deciding that a few seconds more couldn't hurt.

By this time L had crossed the room and was leaning in uncomfortably close in an attempt to hear the conversation making the whole experience that much more weird.

"Oh, you probably don't remember me but you contacted me five years ago."

_That voice! I know it, but...no. It couldn't be! There's just no way._

"You know, the computer freak that got you into that building unnoticed? Went by the name Matt?"

_Okay now that's creepy. Just twenty minuets ago L was trying to devise a plan to get in contact with this guy and it turns out __**he**_ _calls us?_

L gently prodded her shoulder reminding her that she'd have to respond. "This is good..." he muttered quietly.

"Yes," she ventured carefully, still not entirely trusting the current circumstances. "I remember you. What do you want and how did you get this number?"

"Um...let's just say that like you, I'm the best at what I do."

Lady narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything.

"But anyway, I actually happen to have a job for_ you_ this time. It'll pay extremely well. So, are you interested?"

She glanced over at L who was now crouched down beside her and was vigorously nodding his head up and down. The scene almost made her laugh. "What kind of job?" she inquired keeping as many of her normal pretenses as the situation allowed. "And exactly how much and what currency are we talking?"

She heard him sigh. "I can't give you all the details over the phone but if you're willing to meet in person we can sort them all out."

"Time and place?" she asked coolly.

"At the corner of Vineci and South Robertson Boulevard. A place called The Gentlemen's Skin Lounge. At 11:30 pm tomorrow, that's Saturday, June sixth."

"I understand," she stated in a very business like manor. "Please arrange it so that half of my pay is available when I get there. That is all."

There was a small beep and the call was terminated. Lady turned to L who was smiling broadly out into space, his thumb resting between his lips. _Much, much easier than originally planned. It seems that luck is on our side this time._

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: I hope you liked it and if you have a second or two, please leave a review and/or concrit. Yes, things are about to get much more action packed, this story's really just warming up!

-Asiera


	7. Not What Was Expected

Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note nor apparently, the ability to explain its many conundrums and complicated plot twists to my puzzled friends.

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I've been really swamped: Family trips, pre-collage stuff, my mom had surgery, we're doing some house construction, my little sister got braces and is starting driving school... Need I go on? Also I wanted this chapter to be perfect. It's the first chapter of its kind that I've written and I think I did well. If the response is good, you can be sure of more like it to come.

One last thing before we get started, I'd like to thank all my wonderful reviewers: Dei Riktur, jjwitdaheydiddydiddy, Skyward Shadow, Dancers of the Night, AirGirl Phantom, and especially millenniumthief who won the review response from L. Thank you all! I really couldn't do this without you.

**Chapter VI**

**Not What was Expected**

Lady winced as they went over yet another bump and braced herself with extended arms against the roof and the passenger side door as they continued down the steep street picking up speed as they went. She was liking the situation less and less with each passing second. She glanced over at L and noticed in horror that he had one of his knees curled up to his chest, presumably lowering the bare foot that rested on the leather seat each time he needed to work the clutch.

"L do you have to..." she started pleadingly. "I mean couldn't you at least..."

"Relax," said L calmly. "Crashing your car would be detrimental to both us and the case. So believe me, I have no intention of doing so," he stated, extending his left foot just in time to keep the Saleen from squealing in protest to her current gear.

Lady grimaced, momentarily wishing that they hadn't considered her car "necessary equipment". "Have you even _driven_ a manual before?" she asked scathingly.

"No."

Her green eyes widened.

"But then again I'd never piloted a helicopter before and that went smoothly enough. It's really mostly intuition."

"Intui-!" Lady cried but was cut short by L's rather violent stop at the red light which had caused the mustang to buck sharply forwards. Lady sighed and rubbed her head. If she could do this any other way she would have. But L insisted that she couldn't take a taxi in her current ensemble and that walking the streets of Los Angeles was out of the question for the same reason. Despite wanting to drive herself, she refused to leave L without transportation should some emergency come up. Finally, it would have been stupid for L to just wait outside until the meeting was over. Doing so would give ample opportunity for his existence to be discovered, not to mention Successor-Number-Two, whom L had called Mello, might recognize him and they weren't ready for that stage, not yet anyway. In short, this was the _only _option.

She mentally apologized to the vehicle that had gotten her out of so many tight spots in the past and prayed that L wasn't going to rear end the white Subaru in front of them. "_Please_ don't scratch her." Great, she had been reduced to begging the detective beside her. She didn't know that was even possible.

He shook his spiky head and she swore she heard a slight chuckle. "You are much too obsessed with this car."

"And sugar is like heroin to you!" she shot back heatedly, preparing herself for the sporadic acceleration that was to to ensue once the light turned green. "We all have our little obsessions, could you please be a bit more careful with _mine_."

L smiled mischievously as he hit the gas. "Of course, Lady."

Several tense minutes later the midnight black form of the Saleen Mustang came to a thankful rest outside a small dingy looking club. Lady checked her car's clock, noting that it was exactly 11:12. She was almost twenty minutes early, just as she had planned to be.

L watched her as she silently exited the vehicle. It seemed she intended to just leave things like that and move on to the next part of her mission without any sort of transition. L had grown accustom to her strange yet efficient way of parting but was beginning to believe she had issues with saying goodbye. Currently unnecessary theories aside, he was usually content to let her disappear and reappear without a second thought but not this time.

"Lady," he called to her before she had managed to shut the door.

In response she merely paused and cocked her head to the side awaiting the reason for his address.

L mentally scolded himself for saying anything. It was true that he had great difficulty in opening up, expressing emotions, and allowing himself to get close to people, and since the Kira Investigation had gone south, these difficulties had increased by several percentiles. Never the less, he had grown rather attached to the stubborn spunky 24 year old who dubbed herself as his partner. He didn't want to see anything horrible happen to her and the position he was now putting her in increased that risk ten fold.

A confused but curious look came over Lady's half covered face at L's prolonged silence.

Finely the detective spoke. "Getting involved in the Mafia will more than likely put you into situations with which your morals will probably conflict greatly but in order to forward the case and remain safe, you will have to place them aside and do what they ask of you."

A serious look once again consumed her face. "I understand, I've been undercover before."

Another mystery that had to be filed away for the moment. He hesitated. "Lady, while this task is extremely important to the investigation, and abandoning it would cause a huge setback, I am not in a position to force you into cooperating."

"Ryuzaki," she grinned, using his alias on the off chance someone was to over hear them, "while this may be an excellent way for you to clear your conscious and wash your hands of any responsibility should something go awry, it's a waste of time. I've never once failed in a mission and I don't intend to break that habit now."

L frowned. _Why does everyone automatically think that I really don't care what happens to them so long as the case is solved?_

Her expression softened. "Don't worry about me, just make sure _you_ don't damage our chances of success yourself by crashing her," Lady joked, tapping the car top with one hand.

_Well, maybe it was a joke. _

Then she did something that both intrigued the detective and caused a small smirk to appear on his lips.

Lady held her right hand at elbow length from her chest extending her forefinger and thumb so that they formed the shape of an L. Then she re-angled her hand by ninety degrees so that she was now mimicking the shape often associated with firearms. Finally she withdrew her forefinger giving him the thumbs up. The whole gesture was fluid and took only about a second to complete. "I got this," she stated simply. With that she closed the car door and walked briskly up the steps to the club's entrance.

L's smile turned into a wince as he watched her retreating form. Her choice of apparel would cause her to fit in well at this rather dodgy club, no doubt about it, but it was with the _strippers_ rather than the guests that she would be blending.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Mello looked up at the large roman numeral clock that adorned one of the deep red walls. It read 11:41. _Good_, he smirked, he'd arrived late, precisely what he'd planned to do. Mello was the type of person who enjoyed exerting his authority over others. Making people wait for him was an entertaining way for him to do it, and now that he was in an important enough position to make them, he did so quite often.

Mello stood in the doorway for a few seconds longer, the cooled air from inside the club ruffling the exotic feathers on his full leather jacket as it blew past into the dark but still hot street outside. As he did so, his mind reveled in the powerful memories of how he got to be in that position of absolute control and what he was going to use it to accomplish—how _he_ was going to win. The sharp snap of the smooth chocolate in his mouth brought Mello back to reality and he stepped inside, directing his attention to the club around him.

The walls and carpet were a rich red color. This, along with the plush nature of the flooring, gave the _illusion _that he was walking on velvet. The main room was lit by small lamps and covered lights scattered here and there by the small wooden tables; though the room's most noticeable light sources were the several giant chandeliers (obviously knock-offs). The largest of these synthetic crystal adorned décor pieces shone dimly above a wooden polished stage which sported a few attractive looking women stripping and dancing around the large golden pole in its center.

Mello could sum up the description of this sketchy club in one word that could also describe the nature of the breasts on the newest addition to the stage: Fake. One might wonder why Mello would have chosen such a location but that was likewise easily explained. Because of its lackluster appearance, this particular club wasn't very well known or popular. No one would ever notice any type of suspicious action taken in this place. They wouldn't look twice at anyone entering and definitely wouldn't remember his face. Besides, it wasn't as if you could ever find _real_ breasts that big on such a slender figure.

With a sigh Mello turned to Matt, who thanks to the dive's lax rules, was still smoking, his cigarette resting loosely between his lips as his eyes wandered over their current location and its occupants. "Well?" he asked sounding very annoyed—he really only mildly was, "is she here or not?" Mello seriously doubted that she would be.

Matt was silent for a bit, moving up to his tiptoes and craning his neck as he attempted to see around the tables, poles, and sofas. Mello was just getting prepared to leave and was already plotting the best way he could get back at Matt for this latest inconvenience—_Perhaps I'll make him stay for the exchange at the desert compound, Matt __**hates**__ the heat—_when the victim of the mental heat stroke he was envisioning spoke up.

"There." the red head remarked letting out another smoky breath into the already tainted air as he pointed over to the back of the room where the corner of the stage met the wall.

It was dim and there was too much mock-finery between them and their target, this supposed "Masked Lady", for him to clearly see the figure Matt was pointing to but since he really didn't care, it wasn't that big of a deal.

Mello nodded curtly and easily made his way through the crowd to one of the private rooms in the back that he had previously had reserved, leaving Matt to fetch the girl. Once he'd entered the small room he moved to the back, past the small round table supported by the pole that ran through it's center, to the smooth red "leather" sofas that lined the back wall. They may have been able to fool him with the carpet and chandeliers but there was no way they could get cheap fake leather past him. He scowled and took a rather large bite of the chocolate bar in his hands. There was nothing Mello hated more than fake leather.

"This had better be worth it," he muttered attacking the chocolate with more vigor, noticing with dismay that over half of it was gone. He sat down and directed his glare to the black door through which Matt and this so called wonder woman would enter. _I __**hate**__ waiting._

Fortunately, Mello didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later Matt entered grinning widely. Accompanying him was a...Mello narrowed his eyes and almost asked Matt why he had brought one of the strippers back with him—sure she was very attractive but this was business...not that kind—then he saw the mask that covered nearly half her face and did a double take. _This...is her?!_

The girl before him was a very tall slender blond and, thanks to her black high heeled leather boots that were equipped with a ton of unnecessary looking straps and buckles, she was almost a little taller than both himself and Matt. She was dressed in a strapless tight fitting black dress with red leather ribbons running across its surface forming large crisscrosses on her chest and front that loosely resembled the UK's national flag.

The whole outfit reached only about a fourth of the way down her shapely thighs and what little of the fabric did reach past her belt line was cut into five or six strips beneath which was a red lacy material that caused them to flare outwards.

Oddly enough, though the whole purpose of the outfit seemed to be to show as much of the wearer's skin as possible, this woman was encased completely in a tightly woven black fishnet. In fact, the only skin actually visible was that of her neck and the part of her face that was not being obscured by the matching leather mask and her thin blond bangs.

All in all it was quite a shocking sight and not at all what Mello had been expecting. Of course, I'm writing this as if Mello had been staring for minutes when he'd really only had a few seconds to take it in. For you see, the moment his gaze had traveled up to her masked face, his eyes, like L's so many years ago, became captured by ones who's emerald green intensity even rivaled that of his own. But this time something strange occurred that had not before. This time it was not Mello's eyes that were trapped and held so firmly in place, but Lady's.

Trapped in the intense stare, the unsuspecting prisoner's legs ever so slightly trembled as long forgotten things flooded her mind bubbling up to the surface from the hole in which she'd hoped she had drowned them. Now they were returning the favor and she was nearly left gasping for breath as the waters of her past assaulted her. It took all of her long developed discipline not to let any outward appearance of her inner turmoil show and prayed that the merciless eyes boring into her own could not see through those green stained windows into her tortured soul. This was the last thing on earth, heaven, or hell she had expected.

Though Lady was successful in her effort to remain composed she had allowed her carefully guarded and ever maintained awareness of her surroundings to all but leave her. As she was about to discover, it was a costly mistake. The Mafia, Mello in particular, never hired anyone who's skills they were not one hundred percent sure of and this strange unsettling lady, despite Matt's glowing recommendation, was no exception.

Suddenly Lady became aware that Matt was no longer standing next to her, and just as an unnerving feeling settled itself in her stomach she saw Mello give an almost unnoticeable nod of his blond head. Still shaken from the past few seconds, Lady was unprepared and unable to dodge the heavily muscled arm that came flying out from the shadows. A thick hand covered in a white tissue paper clamped itself over her mouth while the owner's other arm wrapped firmly around her waist locking her roughly to his rock hard chest with an iron grip.

In the millisecond that it took Lady to pull herself back together and realize what was going on she had come to the conclusion that who ever had grabbed her was male, over six feet tall, about three or four times her size, and that all the extra bulk was almost completely muscle. _Not good_. But what was even worse was the fact that she was one hundred percent sure that the cloth that was covering her nose and mouth was drugged with a heavy sedative, most likely chloral hydrate.

Luckily, though all sense of her surroundings had fled, her extensive training had not and she had controlled the instinctive urge to inhale sharply in surprise when grabbed, instead holding her breath. The second her rational mind had returned from a past she'd rather forget, she took action, biting down with all her strength on her attacker's hand.

This action, though not sufficient to seriously injure him as she was biting through a cloth, startled him enough to get him to loosen his grip on her for just a split second. It was all she needed.

In the minute time frame she had made for herself, her lithe body shot down, slipping through his slackened grip. Without hesitating she pivoted grabbed both his elbows firmly with her gloved hands and using her lower center of gravity provided by her current crouch to it's fullest potential, shot her right arm up while pulling down and twisting with her left, attempting to flip him down and sideways. A daunting task to be sure but she had the element of surprise. The big idiot had probably expected her to just collapse into unconsciousness. Well what ever he was thinking, it certainly wasn't this. Another thing she could use against him was his stance; it was horribly off. He'd probably got through life just relying on brute strength alone. Big mistake.

As planned the big man leaned dangerously sideways but at the last second tried to stick his right foot out to steady his toppling form. She was ready for that. Her high heeled clad foot intercepted his, cinching his fate. The giant crashed to the floor with a satisfying thud but Lady did not relax nor celebrate. It was nearly impossible that he was truly down for the count and even less likely that he was alone.

Sure enough, stepping out of the shadows their companion had just emerged from, were two other overly built minions. Lady once again fell into a stance that had become as comfortable and normal as standing, bringing up her hands in front of her face. She knew what this was. This was a test. A test to see if she was really as good as the stories claimed she was. A test to see if she was worthy of joining Mello's group. Well she was ready. She'd give them more then they ever asked for or wanted.

She was still pissed at having been caught unawares and now she had three big dumb punching bags to take it out on. She could have just shot them right then and there. Looking into their greedy hate filled eyes she certainly knew she wouldn't feel a bit of remorse doing so but they were in a public location and more importantly, beating them until they couldn't get up sounded much more inviting. _You want a show, Mello? Well I'll give you one you'll never forget!_

Both of the nitwits seemed startled by the fiery yet calm look in her shining eyes but nevertheless, the dumbest of the two charged, his fist pulled back most likely intending to knock the pretty little smirk off of her face.

Another surprise; she ran to meet him. At the last second though she bent lower and using her momentum from the very short run, launched herself over his head. As she was propelled over him she did something akin to a midair splits and grabbed both his broad shoulders for support, thus clearing his head—which was much to small for his body. Once over, Lady shoved her arms backwards gaining yet more momentum, throwing herself at the man who had hung back. She brought both her feet together and slammed them right into his barrel like chest.

The first man, the one who had just been used as a human hurtle, was unprepared for the sudden absence of a target and more than a bit off balance from the extra shove, barreled head first into the first attacker who had just been picking himself off the ground, causing them to both crash to the floor, one of them for a second time.

The brute who had just been kicked let out a loud "Ooph" and stumbled slightly backwards but did not fall. Having lost all her momentum and not having anything to support her body Lady slid down him falling to the floor as she'd meant the idiot before her to do. She caught herself by means of rolling on a bent arm, preventing fall from doing any real damage, but still, she was on the ground, both hands occupied, and her attacker was looming over her, previous look of shock replaced with a malicious grin. He moved forwards, eliminating the distance between them and raised one foot, obviously intending to kick the hell out of her. She grinned. Stupid man, that was just what she had been waiting for.

Like a coiled snake she struck. Pushing her body into an almost inverted vertical position, she whipped her right leg out, her boot colliding with it's target: the underside of the man's smirking face with a loud sickening "CRACK!". The spiked heel of her boot had connected with the thin underside of his jaw bone, surely breaking it like some insignificant twig. The man's head snapped back and he fell heavily to the floor. He wasn't getting up any time soon, that was for sure.

Lady moved all her weight over to her left arm and pivoted so that she about faced and came to rest kneeled on the carpeted floor facing her two remaining attackers. They stared from her to their fallen comrade and back for a few seconds allowing her the time she needed to get smoothly back to her feet. Then instead of taking the obvious hint to back down before she kicked their faces in too, a consuming look of rage took their heavy features. They were getting their asses handed to them by a skinny blond and they were none too pleased about it.

Lady sighed inwardly. Now that rage had them, there was no question about who would win this fight...not that there really ever had been.

Her quick green eyes took in her surrounding, looking for something in the room that she could use to her advantage. They froze, focusing on the pole. She grinned. _Well, I promised a show._ The table was positioned in the center of the room, right between her and her attackers. _Perfect._

Once Lady sprung forward, it only took her about two seconds to reach her target. Once there, she easily swung up onto the wooden table's smooth surface.

The two men only hesitated for an instant, puzzled by her new position, then one jerked his thumb to the left and moved to the right himself. _Oh, so they are going to attack at once one from the back and one from the front. This could be fun..._ At least now they were using some caution; advancing slowly and keeping out of her long legs' striking zone.

She stood there coolly waiting for them to make their moves, one hand loosely gripping the metal of the pole. They charged.

Lady's cool demeanor changed instantly. She whipped around to face the pole and grabbed it firmly with both hands. Suddenly she hoisted herself up so that her back was pressed up against the cool metal and her body extended the along the length of the pole, her feet nearly touching the ceiling. Once completely upside down she brought down both her legs, pulling them to her body, coiling the muscles as tightly as she could. Then precisely at the right moment, she released them shooting them in exact opposite directions, like loaded guns into her attackers. Her left leg was off slightly—knocking painfully into the man's heavy shoulder. He fell backwards but he was still conscious. The right leg was much more satisfying to watch. It slammed directly into the unlucky man's face, snapping the bridge of his nose and sending him thundering and bleeding to the floor. _Two down, one to go_.

The final man raised his bruised body from the floor once more and with a cry of unbridled rage threw himself at Lady much more quickly then she had anticipated. She dodged the worst of his blows by dropping herself quickly to the table but as she made to swing off of it to get some much needed distance, the same hand that had slammed the drugged cloth over her face snagged a handful of her waist long blond hair and yanked backwards.

Lady let out a yelp of pain as she felt quite a few strands being ripped out of her scalp and was unable to prevent herself from being pulled ruthlessly backwards onto the floor.

The man had clearly been unprepared for this miraculous stroke of luck and lost his grip causing her to fall somewhere behind him. She rolled, giving herself at least five feet of space in which to act and positioning herself halfway between the enraged criminal and the couch where Mello and Matt sat, their eyes wide, riveted to the fake leather beneath them.

It was then that the man pulled a knife. It was clear that he'd had all he could take and wanted to finish it right now. Lady tensed. She was on her back and there was not enough time to stand before he reached her let alone to think.

He ran at her, eyes filled with the intent to kill. Mello saw that this had gone way too far. He stood and yelled at the man to stop but he was too late. The man was already on top of her.

Fortunately, Lady was not finished just yet. If a petty henchmen with a knife could end her, she had no right to call herself L's partner. At the last second she kicked out one last time, her right foot catching him in his stomach. Keeping her upper back and arms firmly planted on the dirty carpet she proceeded to use her leg to keep him and his weapon at bay and propel him completely over her, sending him flying into the couch. Now it was Mello's and Matt's turn to dodge.

One more move and she was finished.

Using the momentum of the kick she flung both legs over her left shoulder and using her left arm as leverage, flipped onto her front. In moments she had gotten up and done a quick one-eighty, standing triumphantly before the two shocked faces of her new employers. She'd won. She'd passed the test and had given the two a better show then anything that was going on out in the main room at the same time. There was no way the infiltration would fail now. _Told ya L. _

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: So what did you think? Did I hit the nail on the head? Was it too over the top? Was the description to cumbersome? Did the choreography need work? Were you able to understand the moves? In this case I really, really need you opinions. I'm really kinda nervous about how I did here so please review and tell me what you thought! They would be soooo helpful at this point that I'm extending the character response, this time from Mello, to the best three reviews.

Hope to hear from you soon,

-Asiera


	8. B with an Itch

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, just this story's complicated plot and the OC tangled within it.

AN: Well This chapter came sooner than I thought it would. Actually you can thank my parents. I went on a business trip with them and the hotel was particularly boring, so I had a whole bunch of time to write.

Before I continue though, I'd first like to thank all of my reviewers: jjwitdaheydiddydiddy, dancers of the night, Dei Riktur, Lady Lauren, and especially millenniumthief, Lady Kiome, and AirGirl Phantom who won responses from a slightly peeved Mello. Thanks for all the feed back on the chapter, in particularly the fight scene, it was immeasurably helpful. Well enjoy the new chapter!

**Chapter VII**

**B-with-an-Itch**

Mello was only able to stare, shocked into speechlessness by the blond haired woman before him. She had proved to be everything Matt said she was and more. The moves she had performed to incapacitate his thugs were fluid and exact in their execution; each action leading smoothly into the next. She was more than skilled enough to be Matt's new partner and after seeing her in action, especially those moments on the pole, he had to admit that his interest was more than piqued and not just professionally.

Mello turned to look disdainfully down at his bruised and battered henchman and then with a quick jerk of his head sent the man scurrying out of his rather undignified position on the couch and over to assist his fallen comrades; sheathing his knife as he hurried away from his highly annoyed looking superior. Mello sighed, accurately assuming that the two that had received a high heeled _boot-to-the-head_ would be out of commission for quite some time.

Once that was taken care of, he turned to his soon to be employee. Fixing his accustomed smirk on his young face he stepped forwards. "That was a very impressive performance you gave there. Bravo—"

At that moment Mello was cut short, the cause for his momentary pause in speech being the foot that was planted none to lightly on his chest. "Let's you and I get something straight here," growled Lady coldly, "I'm not here to entertain you and I most certainly will not be treated like some slice of fresh meat that needs to put through the rigmarole of an ignorant trainee. I am a highly experienced individual who's survived missions that would make even some of the most seasoned members of your precious Mafia squirm and I _will _be treated with the respect I deserve." By this point her tone was deadly and her flashing, now prepared, eyes were boring mercilessly into Mello's.

Mello stared coolly back at her, completely unfazed by her threatening tone, then in an instant he reached down and drew out a 9mm Beretta, pointing it directly at the over confidant woman's head. "For someone with 'so much experience', you sure are stupid," he stated, his tone mocking. "Let's put it this way lady, _I'm_ in charge and you take orders from _me_. I decide to test you ten_ thousand_ more times you will comply if you ever hope to work with me. Got it?"

Matt winced at the speed which the situation was escalating. _Does everything always have to be so complicated around him? _He considered intervening but decided that that would only make things worse and he didn't fancy getting between those two anyway, It looked dangerous to his health.

Lady's green eyes never left Mello's or showed any sign of fear. "I suppose you have a plan to explain to the club's owner the loud sound that will ensue should you decide to pull that trigger, not to mention why one of his guests has a hole in her head and the room has been redecorated with a coating of blood and brain matter." She grinned humorlessly into his hard face. "If you are going to make a threat, at least try to make it a believable one. But rest easy," she stated her tone still unwavering. "I have no intention of disobeying direct orders nor in becoming your enemy." Her leg relaxed slightly, decreasing the pressure she was exerting on his chest. "I was just expressing my indignation at being treated so impolitely. I had hoped that we could deal with such matters as distrust in a civilized manner and not resort to such childish trickery that is well below people of our caliber."

Matt almost whistled. It seemed her tongue could move as smoothly as her body. He hadn't heard anyone talk like that since he'd left Wammy's House.

Mello's expression remained impassive. "I see. Well then, will you _politely_ get your boot off my jacket?"

"Of course." Matt breathed a sigh of relief as Lady nodded and drew back her leg. Swinging it down and to the right, she allowed the full force of her kick to fall on the couch. The impact of the blow caused the remaining bit of Mello's abandoned chocolate bar to bounce upwards into the air from whence it was snatched by Lady's quick hand. "But I am expecting compensation for the inconvenience." She appeared to be deep in thought for a moment. "I'd say five thousand extra should cover it."

"Fine," said Mello unexpectedly, shrugging his feather covered shoulders. "Since this whole thing is _his _fault," he said jerking a thumb in Matt's direction, "I'll just take the money out of his next pay check."

Matt who had happily been nodding his head approvingly, pleased how the conversation had recently been going, suddenly stopped and gave Mello a perfect look of dismay and surprise. "Wha...? Now hang on a second!" he objected adamantly waving his hands in front of his chest.

The scene was so perfect it almost caused Lady to laugh and she'd wondered if that had been his intention. She genuinely smiled and turned her attention back to Mello. "So now that that issue has been resolved, what say you we get down to business? What sort of job did you have in mind for me and how much will it be paying?"

Ignoring Matt's protests, Mello leaned casually against the back wall. "You'll be acting as Matt's partner and accompanying him on his missions ensuring that they succeed. The only people you'll be reporting to are him and myself. Also, as these missions are of the utmost importance, you will not speak about them to anyone unless we give you permission to. You'll be payed varied amounts at appropriate intervals throughout your time with us, but the final pay, should all your missions go according to plan, is set at eight-hundred-thousand."

"I assume that the payments will be made at the end of each completed objective right?"

He nodded his head causing some of his shoulder length blond hair to fall into his face where he allowed it to play freely about the left side of his handsome features.

Her expression softened imperceptibly. "And how long will I be acting as his partner?" she questioned gesturing her head in Matt's direction who had his arms folded and was doing his best to maintain a scowl.

"A few months, perhaps more. It all depends how things work out. I can't give you any more information until you accept." A mischievous smirk formed upon his lips. "I'm sure someone with your _experience_ will understand."

Lady ignored the obvious taunt."Yes, I understand and I accept your terms."

He smiled, this was going along much smoother than he thought. After she had moved the fight to him, he had guessed that things would probably get ugly. "Alright then." He cleared his throat catching the attention of his three men, who were all at least semi-conscious by now, and then gestured curtly at the door.

As they shuffled jerkily out of the room holding their various injuries and exited into the currently empty hallway, Matt muttered sourly, "it seems to me that they need more 'compensation' than she does."

Mello turned to his friend raising an eyebrow. "You offering?"

"Huh? No! I'm just saying. ...You weren't really serious about earlier were you?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" asked Mello as he watched the door swing shut.

Matt looked neither convinced nor pleased. "Yeah whatever. We'll talk later."

Mello just shrugged before turning back to Lady. "So now that we've come to an agreement and it's just the three of us, why don't you remove your mask—"

"No," she interrupted firmly. "I thought this might come up and the answer is **no**, I will _never_ take the mask off."

Mello's previously relaxed eyes narrowed. "How do you expect me to trust you if—"

"I don't," she stated simply. "Trust is one of the hardest and most valuable things you can earn from a person and by the time I leave your service, I seriously doubt that neither I nor you will be any closer to attaining that highly sought after prize."

It was difficult to tell, but Mello thought he detected a hint of bitterness and regret in her statement.

"Showing my face to you would make little to no difference in that matter but it could be the grain that tips the scales of life or death for me.

"For any person with my...history, in any time, showing their true identity is a risky business, but now that Kira is in the picture... Well, I can't think of an easier way get yourself killed." She laughed but there was no cheerful emotion behind it. "I wouldn't even show my face to the great _L_. No matter how sure I am that you're not Kira, it's just not worth the risk. In all my experiences, trusting others gets you killed."

Mello was floored by her lengthy but undeniably true statement, it reflected his own views on the matter perfectly. His personal list of people that he truly trusted throughout his life was only two names long and only one of them was still alive. Still, it bothered him to have to work with someone who refused to show him her face. Yet her skills... If she could be controlled, she would be of immeasurable use to him. After careful deliberation of this possibly double edged blade he finally voiced his decision: "I won't ask you to show your face, for now at least."

She seemed amused. "Ask in the future and the answer will be the same."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," he retorted dismissively, not pressing the matter but refusing to completely give in. "I'm guessing that your philosophy is the same with your name?"

"It is."

He rolled his eyes and reached out his hand, holding it open for the rest of the chocolate bar that was still held in Lady's captivity. "Then what do we call you?"

She made to give him what remained of the bar but seemed to think better of it. She looked up from the morsel and cocked an eye brow giving Mello a look that he wasn't quite sure he liked. Then she did something that caused Matt to gasp and Mello to freeze. Lady, still smirking and keeping eye contact, lifted the chocolate to her red lips and with a satisfying "snap," bit off a rather large hunk. "You can call me whatever you want," she said, tossing the candy back to Mello who barely reacted in time to catch it.

He stared horrified down at the most recent bite mark in _his_ chocolate. No one, _no one_, had _ever _dared to eat his chocolate. Not even Matt as a joke. There was no way that she could have realized the gravity of the act she had just committed but that did nothing to calm the swirling emotions within him. The way her twinkling emerald eyes seemed to taunt him... She had spunk, he'd give her that, _but this will not be over looked... _"Anything I want huh?" he asked darkly his eyes still fixed on the defacing mark her teeth had formed.

Lady tilted her head in affirmation as Matt looked between the two, once more uneasy.

"Okay, _Bitch_, you're hired."

_...DEatHNOtE..._

L sighed as he glanced over to the small digital alarm clock that rested upon the night stand, noticing with dismay that it now read 6:49 am—only seven minutes since he'd last checked. He let out an annoyed sigh and resumed his pacing. He'd tried to continue working at hacking into Near's database but that had proved extremely difficult and seemingly futile. Not to mention that he'd been unable to concentrate properly regardless of sitting position since 1:23 am. _Lady should have called by now..._

He chastised himself for acting so illogically and continued to resist the urge to use his itching fingers to call her himself. A longing which he'd been fighting for a total of five hours and—he glanced back at the clock now reading 6:51—twenty-eight minutes. Resigning himself to the mental torture boredom and uselessness had to offer, he continued to pace the small hotel room.

It was nearly a quarter past seven when the small gray device on the detective's bed rang. L, who was currently on the other side of the room made a fantastic running leap, slamming full force onto the bed which slid a few inches backwards from the impact of his skinny form. In under two seconds, the cell phone was answered.

"Hello?" he asked hurriedly, trying to keep the concern and excitement from his usually emotionless voice. "Lady?"

"Hi Ryuzaki," came the barely audible answer on the other end. It seemed that she was being forced to keep her voice to a whisper.

He sighed in relief as her quiet but very real voice fell upon his ears and immediately felt quite stupid for getting so worked up. "Did everything go smoothly?" he inquired succeeding in getting his nerves under control.

Lady sighed and rubbed her throbbing forehead as she glanced around her current surroundings. She was in the dimly lit and very dingy bathroom of her new accommodations sitting in the cold empty bathtub. The reason for her position and hushed voice was that she didn't trust Mello not to bug her room and the bathroom was much smaller and therefore easier to check than the bedroom. So far she had yet to discover any type of surveillance but with L she couldn't afford even the slightest slip up.

"Smoothly enough," she answered deciding it best not to worry him over the rocky start she had gotten off to.

L frowned, not fully believing her reply. "I had made the assumption that you could get in contact much earlier."

_I guess that's his way of saying that he was worried. Either that or it's a nice way to get across that he's displeased with the delay. _"Yeah, so did I," she stated trying to readjust herself into a somewhat more comfortable position but the tub proved horribly hard no matter at what angle her back rested against it. "But apparently, my first assignment starts tomorrow so I spent the last four hours getting briefed on every possible little detail. This is the first time I've had to myself since I got here."

"I see..." said L slowly. "What have you discovered about Mello's intentions thus far?" he asked getting straight to the point as usual.

"One, that his nickname is so horribly off that it isn't even funny," she whispered back getting a slight chuckle out of the detective but nothing more. "He's not 'mellow' at all. He calls me Bitch!"

L's brow knitted together. "You mean he called you _a_ bitch?" he asked, throwing out the word as if he was reading a dictionary entry.

"No he _calls me _Bitch." She sighed. That is the last time I ever say, 'you can call me whatever you want'."

"Oh, I understand," said L laughing slightly. "That can happen when you give people that kind of power over you."

She laughed falsely. "Yeah I got that but I'm guessing that's not the kind of information you were hoping for."

"Sharp as always Lady," retorted L, a slight almost unnoticeable smirk on his lips. "I was hoping for more _Kira_ related material."

"Oh well in that case," bantered Lady, still feigning ignorance, "perhaps this will be of more interest." Her tone became serious and her voice lowered in volume even more causing L to have to press the phone closer to his ear. "He is attempting to confront Kira and in a very direct manner. I don't think he suspects that Kira lurks within the Japanese Task force yet or that he is the 'Fake L', but he wants the Death Note which they possess."

L slightly stiffened but it wasn't as if he was surprised by such a bold move by Mihael. "And how does he intend to accomplish that?" he questioned calmly.

"He plans to capture the Head of the NPA, Mr. Kanichi Takimura and hold him ransom for the Death Note."

L contemplated this information carefully. "And you are suppose to execute the kidnapping, correct?"

"Yes, with Matt."

"Is there a contingency plan?"

"I believe so but I am not currently privy to that information. Personally I don't think the backup plan is one-hundred percent formed as of yet."

There was a long pause then finally: "I see... The reason I ask is that it is likely that Kira will kill the Director once his capture has been made know to the rest of the Japanese Police, which is policy."

"That's what I was thinking. As long as Light can lay the blame away from the members of the Task Force and therefore himself, he'll do anything to keep the Death Note from leaving his grasp."

Another long pause. "You must go through with this."

Lady's eyes widened. She had come to the same conclusion herself but she had never expected L to agree so quickly, not when it was highly possible that it could end the life of a decent individual.

"At this point we have no other option. I need you to stay in place and while Mello's current plan doesn't make a lot of sense, I know that he has thought this through much more carefully than we are currently lead to believe. We need him and Near to pressure Light so we must let this play out a bit longer."

Lady nodded. "Alright. I can do that. I'll try to keep regular contact with you throughout the mission but that may be difficult or even impossible."

"I understand," came the answer. "Contact me as long and often as it is safe but don't endanger the mission or yourself to do so. After the modifications I made, your phone should be untraceable as well as untappable but if you draw too much suspicion, I have no doubt that Matt could eventually do it."

"Got it. I don't suppose that you discovered anything of Near's plans?"

He sighed. "No. Most of the useful information is stored on his personal computer which has thus proved nigh impregnable. Even then, I doubt that there is much of it there. He prefers to keep important things stored in his head, in much the same way as I do. The only interesting piece of information I uncovered is that the SPK has discovered that the Task Force has one of the note books in its possession and that they are forming, or have formed plans to get it back. Needless to say, digging deeper would be dangerous and I must be immeasurably careful. In short, don't expect the answer to our problems from my end. I'll do what I can, but I am not hopeful."

"I thought so." Then her tone changed to a lighter one. "One more thing before I go."

"Hmm?"

"Just wondering if you got the car back alright."

L actually laughed. "Yes Lady, your car is safe."

"Phew! That's a relief. I'll call you if anything else comes up."

"Goodbye, Lady."

The phone call ended without another word and Lady extricated herself from the tub, then, after carefully examining it, decided it was decent enough for her to clean off from last night's fight. She turned on the water and, once she'd adjusted it to a desirable temperature, moved to the room's mirror, allowing time for the rusty tub to fill. After a few tense seconds she reached up and slowly removed her mask; for the first time in what seemed like ages, looking upon her own face.

She stayed stiffly in that position for quite sometime, her eyes taking in every small detail of every feature which she hid with such fervor from the rest of the world, much as a dragon hordes it's treasure. _Some treasure_, she thought bitterly.

Her arms shook slightly as she gazed into the mirror's slightly foggy surface unable to stop a single word from pounding across her mind. _Mihael..._ What she had neglected to tell L was that after meeting his successor, she wasn't sure she could keep it together long enough to complete this endeavor. _Why him...why now..._

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: And you thought everyone calling her Lady was bad. Well I hoped you enjoyed it. More action coming up in the next chapter.

Please review, I love hearing from you! Because the ploy seems to be working, best two reviews get responses from Matt.

Well, until next we meet,

-Asiera


	9. Stylish

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, the anime or the manga.

AN: I apologize for the very long wait but have to lay the blame on my first semester of college. I must say, getting used to University is much harder than it looks. I hope you all will forgive me and will enjoy this addition to the story.

**Chapter VIII**

**Stylish**

As the large white van continued its methodical trek down one of the many Japanese highways, which even at 4:30 in the morning was quite crowded, the driver—the world's youngest and most brilliant hacker (a self proclaimed title) —continued his bored survey of his surroundings. He'd been on the move for the past three days, which considering, wasn't too extreme for Mello's missions but the fact that he'd spent a fair amount of that time driving a commercial van didn't help ease the dullness of it all.

Matt yawned and took a swig of the latte that had been resting in center council's cup holder which separated him from his new partner. Glancing over in her direction he watched as the strange woman wrinkled her nose after following his example with the coffee.

"You know, you don't _have_ to drink that," he commented, returning his eyes to the busy street.

"I am perfectly aware of that," she answered unemotionally, taking to rolling the cheap mug between her hands.

He sighed. For all the craziness and fanfare that had gone into obtaining her services, working with her thus far had been a little disappointing. He wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting but it certainly wasn't what he'd gotten. The girl kept completely to herself, defying his best efforts to keep up a pleasant conversation. She was extremely tight lipped about anything that even remotely had to do with her past, which he guessed was to be expected but it was still annoying. Heck, he'd come across government databases that were easier to access then she was.

Perhaps worst of all was her absolute _intolerance_ of his nicotine habit. They'd ridden the whole way with the back windows rolled all the way down. _Which is why it was so damned cold in here!_ he reminded himself bitterly as he shivered once more. (She'd refrained from opening the front ones as well in case one of the traffic light cameras was to capture their faces and so that her mask would not draw unnecessary attention).

"So, if you obviously don't like it, then why are you drinking it?" Matt asked, once again trying to defeat the silence that seemed to be building a permanent stronghold between them.

She turned and fixed him with a quizzical stare from beneath the leather confines of her mask. "You're a persistent one, I'll give you that."

He laughed slightly, unsure if that was a compliment, her just stating a fact, or if she was annoyed. "It's always worked for me before."

She nodded. "Working with Mello I suppose it's a must."

"Yep," he answered, glad he seemed to be finally getting somewhere with her. "If you want him to even _begin_ to take you seriously...well let's just say that it's one of the few times in life where banging your head against a brick wall is a _good_ thing."

Lady directed her gaze out the side window, watching as the many towering buildings dominating the skyline of the city marched by, their countless glass windows still ablaze with the rising sun's rays. "Every wall has cracks," she stated as if she were commenting on the weather. "Executing a crippling blow to one of its weak points is vastly more effective than banging such a useful piece of anatomy against it."

Matt wasn't sure if he should laugh or be worried about his friend's well being.

Lady tilted her head so that she was once again looking at his face. "I drink it because it has a heavy amount caffeine in it and though I find its taste displeasing, I'd rather that than be drowsy on the mission this afternoon. Between all the necessary moving about, the ever present smoke cloud, and your rather limited taste in music, I haven't had a decent amount of sleep since we left. So," she admonished, lifting the mug of steaming liquid to her lips, "I resign myself to this."

Matt snickered. "You really are something, Lady—" She had _not_ given Matt the freedom to call her whatever he liked as she had with Mello— "but seriously, what's wrong with my music selection?"

"The problem is not with the music you've _selected_," she stated swirling the steaming concoction around with the small red plastic rod that rested in it. "But lies more with the _amount_ that you choose the listen to. Don't you have anything else besides Boston and Journey?"

"Well, Lady, what do _you_ suggest?" he bantered. "I have pretty much all of the _good_ classic rock."

She sighed. "Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith...perhaps Janet Jackson, Roxette, Nirvana or Def Leopard," she listed in a bored matter of fact tone.

Matt whistled as he took one of the many exits that lined the left side of highway. "I guess we _do_ have something in common," he said happily, granting her request.

As the sounds created by the opening cords of Janet Jackson's Black Cat filled the metal frame of the old van, Lady turned, fixing Matt with one of those unsettling stares that made him feel as though she had X-ray vision that could reach down to the soul. "We have _a lot_ in common, Matt," she stated unemotionally, as if it was an undeniable, irrefutable fact.

Matt shivered and he wasn't entirely sure it was from the cold. "I hope so," he admitted, attempting a laugh. "It'll make working together a lot easier."

The only response she made was to silently sip her coffee.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Midday found the white van parked just outside the tall building that served as the headquarters of the Japanese National Police Agency and Lady—now clothed in the loose white uniform of a Japanese window washer, black baseball cap pulled low over her still masked face—hoisting herself up to the twenty first floor by means of wooden platform and a tightly secured rope. She made a show of flourishing a rag across the already shinning surface of the windows, while in actuality, she was carefully counting the panes of glass, zeroing in on her target's office.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Mr. Takimura shuffled his papers in a flustered manner as he tried to explain to one of his subordinates that it didn't matter whether or not the deceased criminal had been part of an ongoing investigation, because of the fact that he had died inexplicably of a heart attack, the policy was drop the investigation and hand the files over to the Kira Task Force. A task force that hadn't made any _real_ progress in five long years... The man didn't seem pleased about this but how else were they supposed to deal with such supernatural occurrences? If even _L_ couldn't make any progress in the case, then what hope did his mediocre detectives have?

A few heated moments later the man left and Takimura was left to his own thoughts or he would have been if the window worker wasn't making such a racket. _What is she doing? Scrapping her nails against the glass?_

The Director turned his gaze towards the source of the strange sound and froze in alarm. The "window cleaner" had just finished cutting a large perfect circle out of the glass. The horrified man had just managed to stand when the removed section was lowered noiselessly to the floor and the ominous looking woman stepped inside, black high heels clicking slightly over the smooth glass.

Almost immediately the Director's hand shot towards the button that would sound the building's alarm and send about fifty armed detectives his way.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Director," the masked woman spoke, her tone a deadly cold whisper. And though her voice was chilling, it was the shining fifty caliber magnum pointed at his face that stopped his hand's movements. "Not that it would do you any _good _anyways. The alarm signal has been jammed by my partner."

Takimura began to slowly back towards the door, his shaking hands lowering to his gun.

"Freeze," Lady hissed dangerously, keeping the gun locked on the Director's somewhat pudgy face.

"I-if you shoot," he shuddered fearfully, "my colleagues will hear and you will be caught and killed."

The woman smirked none too kindly. "Half true, they _will_ hear and come running but I'd be long gone by the time they reached this room and _you_, I'm afraid, would be the dead one. Are you really willing to take that risk, Director?" Her disturbing smile faded completely. "Because I don't think you are."

He hesitated, all his training told him that if he complied with her demands he'd probably end up dead anyway but there was something about this woman that was more terrifying than death itself, especially her eyes. Besides, he was an administrator, a mere politician, he'd never actually captured a single dangerous criminal himself, let alone taken a life with his weapon. He just gave the orders.

Lady smirked as his small backwards momentum ceased. "Good choice. Now, slide your gun over, nice and easy."

Mr. Takimura again complied, kicking the small pistol across the carpet so it bumped softly against the hard leather of her left boot.

After pocketing the weapon she gestured over to the chair the Director had just vacated seconds prior. "Please, have a seat, Takimura-san." It was clear by the way she spoke that it was _not_ a request.

All too quickly, he followed her order, staring cautiously up at this mysterious woman, hoping futilely that perhaps she just wanted to talk.

Unfortunately for him, Lady had no intention of chatting, she had a delivery to make. Her quick green eyes darted around her hostage's neat desk until they fell upon a crystal looking glass filled halfway with water. She slid the container across the desk top so it came to a rest directly between them, then extricated a small zip-lock bag filled with a fine looking powder from her deep pockets and deftly dumped the contents into the glass with her gloved hands, all the while keeping her gun pointed directionally at her target. "Drink it," she ordered shortly.

"What-what is it?" he questioned uncertainly.

Lady shoved the gun closer so that the cold metal of the muzzle was pressed against his forehead. "Does it really matter at this point?" she asked with a bored sigh.

Surrendering himself to whatever fate this wicked looking woman had in mind for him, Takimura did as was asked, downing the entire contents in a few deep gulps.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Several minutes later Lady was grunting and straining as she shoved his rather large body as quickly as she could into a large white duffel bag. _Damn! He's heavier than I thought... Maybe I should have made him get into the bag __**before**__ he drank _it, she thought bitterly. With one more strained shove she managed to get the drugged Director completely into the bag. Lady took a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow before she embarked on the considerable task of getting the heavy bag out the window onto the platform. As she picked up the heavy load she was thankfully reminded of the fact that people rarely tended to look up.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Matt was nervously drumming his fingers on the van's steering wheel when his phone rang, jerking him back to reality. Due to the ring-tone he didn't have to look at the ornate M that was displayed on the phone's screen to know who it was. "You're early, man," Matt commented as he flipped the device open.

"Is it done?" was the short answer.

"Well..." trailed off the red-head.

"Well?" repeated Mello testily.

"_Well_, since we're still _fifteen_ _minutes_ _**ahead**_ of the deadline, no not ye—" Matt stopped before his answer was completed as he looked up and saw that Lady was already on the ground and was dragging the heavy looking bag that contained Director Takimura towards the van.

He grinned. "Scratch that. We're just about done wrapping up."

"Really?" asked Mello hiding pleasant surprise behind skepticism. "I thought it was still _fifteen_ _minutes_ too _early_ to ask for results."

"What can I say?" laughed Matt, pulling his own cap over his head to hide his face as he stepped out of the van to help. "That lady is really something."

The blond on the other end scoffed. "Of course she is, that's why I hired the bitch."

"Whatever," said Matt still laughing, "Just remember _who_ recommended her."

Mello sighed. "Just get the target back to head quarters as soon as possible."

"Gotcha," responded Matt as the call was terminated.

By now Lady had already reached the van and was hefting the "body-bag" into the back of the vehicle.

"You look like you could use a hand, eh Baby?" questioned the red-head smoothly, leaning against the side of the van.

The green eyed woman gave him a look that clearly said she was contemplating smacking him for his latest choice of address.

"Heh...Yeah, I'll just go grab the rack," he said quickly, gesturing back to the base of the building.

She nodded curtly, remaining silent.

After a few more minutes they had shed the window-washer guise and were back on the crowded highway headed for the nearest safe-house, which was located in a not so far off computer warehouse.

"Yes!," exclaimed Matt as the now warm wind ruffled his already quite wild hair. "That was _awesome _Lady!"

The leather clad female had jerked in surprise at his sudden outburst and was now giving him an odd look from beneath her long lashes.

"I haven't seen anything go _that_ smoothly since that prison break in Los Angeles six years ago. That was..." the boy trailed off searching for the best words to describe their latest mission.

Lady gave one of her all too knowing smirks. "I don't know about what we did back there, but I believe the word you looking for to describe an event such as that prison break is stylish."

Matt snapped his fingers in affirmation. "That's the word. _Stylish_!"

Lady's grin widened as she let her mind travel back over half a decade. _Stylish indeed. Stylish Beyond compare..._

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: Review if you would, they are greatly appreciated. Next chapter:New Perspective should be up in about a month (at least that's my goal). I will be giving Near a bigger part and checking in on our favorite egotistical "future god" Light Yagami.

-Asiera


	10. Perspective

Disclaimer: The likelihood that I am the owner of Death Note is below two percent...but then again...that was enough to convince L that Light was Kira.

AN: Thank you to all the reviewed my previous chapter and I really appreciate your patience with my updating speed. Last semester was quite challenging but I'm free for the summer now so hopefully I can get a lot more done.

Finally, this chapter contains heavy Manga references from the end of volume seven (or the corresponding anime episodes). It is assumed that you have read/watched them so if you haven't things might not make as much sense or seemed rushed since I'm not going into lengthy details to describe them. If this is the case, my only advice is to watch it at "justdubs . net" or read it at "onemanga . com".

**DEatHNOtE: Erased**

**Chapter IX**

**Perspective**

"Ah you're so mean to me, Mom and Dad," sighed Matsuda, his hand rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck. It was obvious from the expressions on Sachiko's and Soichiro's faces that his joking comment was not taken well.

Light hid his glower behind a perfect mask of calm laced with a touch of amusement. He was the Future God of the New World, he was the Mighty Kira, the mastermind who had _destroyed_ **L**, yet here he was, being forced to listen to the stupidity so often demonstrated by his subordinates.

His friends, his coworkers, his very family—through the twisted bonds that Kira had wrapped around him, they had become nothing more than an inconvenience and most the time, utterly useless pawns in his dark game. If there was any remnant left of Light Yagami, it was buried deep beneath the immeasurable darkness and unquenchable lust for power that was Kira. For all intents and purposes, Light had perished that day five years ago along with L, but then again, L wasn't really dead, so perhaps there was still some fragment of hope left for the corrupted youth. At this point in time though, it didn't seem that hope burned very brightly in this world that was slowly being consumed and ruled by fear.

Light wanted desperately to slap the smirk off the face of his stupidly grinning sister, who had had the gall to suggest that he _marry_ Misa. He _would _slap Misa later for her reaction to Sayu's words. How could anyone think that he would chose that whore for his partner? There was no one in this pitiful world that could ever hope to match him; the only person that had come close to that lofty goal was L, and L had been eliminated, a required sacrifice for the coming New Dawn that would bring about the birth of an age free from evil, a peaceful age ruled by the god Kira—by him.

Yes, now that L was gone, there was nothing in his way. The world was already moving in the right direction and as long as he had the patience to wait a little longer, there would be no hope of turning back and he would finally win this age long battle against evil. There was no one left to oppose him, no one who would dare to attempt such an absolute fatal mission, or at least, so he thought.

Light was pulled from his ego-stroking reverie back to the still sin tainted reality by the heavy stress in his father's deep voice. Soichiro had answered his ringing phone a few seconds prior and what Light had assumed to be a meaningless call, was about to destroy any illusions he had about Kira remaining unopposed.

"Kidnapped?" cried Mr. Yagami in shock. His voice immediately lowered as he saw the concern and fear in the faces of his innocent daughter and wife. "No, we shouldn't talk about it here... But if that's true, then it calls for the entire Force to act..." Looking around the room he gave Matsuda and his son such a meaningful look that Light started rising to his feet. "I understand, we're on our way."

Instantly the elder Yagami shoved back his chair and practically sprinted to the door. "Matsuda, Light, come with me!"

The two men obeyed, and in under two minutes they were in Mr. Yagami's car going as fast as the roads' speed limits would allow.

Light processed the information his father had just presented him with calmly, while allowing his face reflected in the car window's dark glass to show stress and concern. Why should he care if the director had been kidnapped? He didn't know anything of significance about the Kira Investigation, the Death Notes, or L's death. Besides, there wasn't even any evidence to connect this kidnapping to the Kira Investigation.

Though Light had to admit, he was more than a bit curious about how such an undertaking had been executed without notice or arrest. According to Aizawa, the Director had been taken right out of his own office in the middle of broad daylight without anyone reporting any form of suspicions actions. That had to have been one hell of a well planed operation.

It didn't take long for the speeding form of their sleek vehicle to arrive at the Police Headquarters and it took even less time for Light to realize that he had been extremely wrong about this event's linking to his secret agenda.

"The Director for the Notebook."

Those five simple words completely shattered all of Light Yagami's current schemes and assumptions.

_How do the kidnappers know about the Death Notes! _Light's panicked thoughts raced through his suddenly frantic mind, yet his control was great enough that none of his true emotions made their way onto his perfectly composed features. _Is it possible that they know that I'm not the real L? That L was murdered five years ago by Kira—by __**me**__? But most importantly...who let this information slip?_

Light looked carefully around the suddenly palpably tense room at the many faces expressing varying degrees of concern, fear, panic, and anger. Suddenly, everyone one around the young mass murderer looked like a possible traitor...well, except maybe Matsuda.

Of course, the first theory to be tossed between his subordinates was that it was Kira who was behind all this. They all foolishly disregarded the fact that it had been five years since the Task Force had attained the Death Note, and that if Kira had had a need for it, he would have acted long before now. However, Light kept his mouth shut. _Right now it might be better if I let them believe that it is in fact Kira, seeing as how he serves as a comfortable scapegoat for everything that goes wrong around here. Anyway, what's more important now is _**_how_**_ these people were able to find out about everything and whether or not the Director will be able to tell them anything else; he shouldn't know anything, but than again, the Notebook was supposed to be a secret as well..._

Realizing that he'd have to enter the conversation sooner or later or risk the incompetent adults surrounding him tearing their hair out in hopeless frustration, Light spoke. "Dad, how much did the Director know? I know we tried to limit the knowledge of the Notebook to within this group but..."

Everyone was quick to confirm that the Director was indeed ignorant to the existence of the Death Note, and after a short lived bout of useless finger pointing centered around Matsuda, the Task Force finally came to the conclusion Light was hoping for. They were going to make news of the Director's kidnapping common knowledge within the police system.

Light had to force himself to hide one of his more twisted grins—an impulse that was getting harder and harder to suppress as of late. It was an already well known fact that Kira had an unstoppable method for extracting information that was suppose to be know only by the Japanese police. So as long as the gullible Task Force made that knowledge "public", Kira would have no problems ending this little fiasco, and best of all, there would be no way to link the man's death back to the Task Force or Light.

"There is something else," muttered Aizawa, causing Light to have to suppress a sigh. Why these idiots had to wait until the last moment to reveal important details was beyond him and had left him wondering many times if he would have been better off sending the entire team to their graves along with L. If he could have done it without being overly suspicious, he probably would have.

"What is it, Aizawa?" questioned Matsuda nervously, as if he half expected his constituent to say that that the Prime Minister had been kidnapped as well.

"We found this on the Director's desk," said the tall man gravely, as he held up a small zip locked evidence bag containing what looked to be a business card but failed to elaborate further.

"Do you believe that to be a link to the kidnappers?" inquired Light's father in an obviously stressed voice.

Still Aizawa remained silent, continuing to hold the bag out.

All of the members of the team leaned forwards to get a better look at the contents of the small bag, including Light, who was momentarily annoyed at the inconvenience of the situation, that is, until his gaze focused on what was actually held behind the plastic. Light was almost unable to maintain his facade as his dark eyes carried the image of the archaic L adorning the card to his brain, an image that had haunted his dreams almost since he'd first picked up the Death Note.

There was an audible gasp which emanated from the shocked mouths of everyone present in the room.

"W-what does this mean?" asked Mr. Yagami in an unsure voice.

That question was exactly what was racing through Light's head, his brilliant brain flying through the seemingly endless and mostly impossible circumstances and possibilities.

_L! Does this mean that the kidnappers know that L is dead? Or is this simply a taunt at whom they believe to be L? And how the hell did they get in here without a single god damn person seeing them or any surveillance catching their actions? If they were connected with L, that would explain why they knew about the Death Note... But _**_how_**_? How do they know L? L is dead! I _**_Killed_**_ him! I won! This should not be happening!_

Light actually jumped when he felt the presence of Matsuda's hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Light?" questioned the man in a concerned voice. He had rarely seen Light lose his composure, and it worried him to see the youth so on edge. All the members on the Task Force, including himself, looked up to Light so much that it was easy to forget that Light was still very young and that L had been his friend. This case no doubt effected him the most.

It would have been hard, if not impossible, for anyone who knew the vile horrific things that went on in Light's mind to associate Matsuda's version of the boy with the actual murder who stood in the dim room. Light barely managed to force a look of calm onto his features, and it was even more difficult to keep himself from snarling his quick response of, "I'm fine, Matsuda."

After he'd shoved his unsettling thoughts to the back of his mind, he directed his attention to the men, who were by now all staring at him with concern—another fact that did not help to quell the rage boiling inside of him. "I'm not sure, but my best guess is that L had past enemies that we were never made aware of, and now, since they believe that _I_ am L, they left this card as some sort of taunt. As to how they know about the Notebook..." he shrugged. "I'm really not sure at all, unless these 'enemies' somehow had access to L's files, which I really hope isn't true." Light only wished he could believe his own words as easily as the impressionable men around him.

"I suppose that would make sense..." nodded Ide.

"Yeah, that theory would also explain the lipstick mark," conceded Aizawa.

Light did a double take. _Lipstick? _Kira held out his hand for the package, and once it was placed in his waiting fingers, he examined the surface of the card more carefully. Sure enough, the faint pink outline left by a pair of full lips adorned the center of the card, sprawled lazily across the hard contours of the archaic letter.

"So we can assume that the kidnapper is some sort of scorned ex-lover of L's?" asked Matsuda excitedly as he peered wide eyed over Light's shoulder at the strange piece of evidence.

The idea of L having a lover was so laughable that Light struggled to keep from snorting aloud. Not to mention that the fact that it was Matsuda who had come up with the idea made it that much more absurd. "That's highly unlikely, Matsuda," commented Light cooling, as his eyes continued to roam over the card.

Thankfully the glares and strange looks from the rest of the Task Force were enough to get the foolish man to abandon his theory...almost.

"It was just a thought..."

"Regardless," said Light in a brusque manner, "we need to find out who left this 'calling card'. Take it to forensics," ordered Light passing the bag back to Aizawa.

"That's a good idea," affirmed Soichiro, and Mogi and Ide nodded in agreement.

"I'm on it," said Aizawa, turning to leave the room.

Light seriously doubted that anyone who was smart enough to know of L's and the Notebook's existence would be stupid enough to leave a DNA trace but it was worth a shot. Besides, he was more than a bit anxious to discover who the new threat to his Utopia was, so that he could eliminate them quickly.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

A small pale finger continued in its endless task of twisting tirelessly around an even paler strand of pure white hair, as its owner fiddled with one of the many toy robots that littered the floor of the large, computer covered, dark room.

"Near," spoke a tall black haired man, pulling the boy from his intricately woven imaginary world, where he had been much more content. Gevanni had always been a bit too high strung for Near's tastes, and one glance up at the man towering above him proved that now was definitely not an exception. "What are you going to do about the security breach?" continued Stephen, despite the fact that Near had not responded.

"Nothing," replied the small boy unemotionally, "I thought I had already made that clear."

"Y-yes," faltered the elder man, "but if it _is_ Mello hacking into our system, aren't we more at risk because of it?"

"I'm used to him cheating off of me," deadpanned the white haired boy, his gray L-like eyes darting over to a picture of a much younger version of his rival, held in place by the clawed hand of a bright red robot. "Besides, I want to see what he comes up with. It should be interesting," he persisted as he began to reassemble a fallen toy that had lost the previous imaginary battle.

"And anyway, it isn't Mello hacking into our system," continued Near, his voice taking on a corrective nature, "it's Matt. I believe I made that clear at yesterday's briefing as well."

Gevanni sighed. "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

Near remained silent, the only sound that accompanied the incessant humming of the many computers was the sharp snapping sound as Near forced the ball socket of the tiny machine's arm back into its place.

"And, I mean, once you add this breach on top of the Director's kidnapping and our forced cooperation with the, as you put it, 'highly incompetent Japanese Task Force'...I just think that if we're going to let our enemy get information from us—"

"Mello is not the enemy," interrupted Near flatly, "that title belongs to Kira alone."

Gevanni blinked, "Right, but...I think we should at least get some information in return. This morning when they hacked in, they got careless and we were able to get a general location, and I'm pretty sure from the data we gleaned, that I could get into _their_ system and even get a hold of some of their files."

Near's right hand left his now curly hair strand and was held up in the universal "stop" position, his left hand even stilling on his toys. "They hacked in this morning?" His voice was just as emotionless as ever but he was sitting up a bit straighter and his right knee was curled a little tighter to his small chest.

"Yeah," answered Gevanni, thinking happily that Near would allow him to go through with his plan. "Maybe four of five hours ago."

It took Near's brilliant mind only seconds to come to a decision. "Bring me all the files regarding that breach, I want everything, no matter how insignificant."

"So can I take that as an okay to—"

"No, Gevanni, you may not," replied Near firmly. "You may take that as a request for those files and nothing more."

"Yes, Sir," responded Gevanni quickly, if not a bit disappointedly.

In a few short minutes the papers were placed in Near's outstretched hand. Almost immediately, all the documents were strewn about in such an unorderly fashion among the already toy cluttered area that only a mind as strange and vast as Near's could make sense of them. The boy's quick mind was reflected in his wide eyes as they darted from page to page, his small long fingered hands playing across the ink stained pages.

_There is no way that Gevanni could have caught Matt in the act, and there is also no way that Mello would have had anyone else assigned to the task of hacking our system. _Near mentally sorted and weighed the facts in his head. _Also, Mello is efficient, he would have gathered all needed data on his first breach a few weeks back... The only reason that Matt would have gotten caught or even been back here in the first place is if Mello _**_wanted_**_ him to be discovered, and the only reason Mello would have done that is to reveal some bit of information to me or to prove that he could get through all my security. Seeing as how he allowed himself to get caught the first time for that particular reason, and accounting for the fact that Mello gets board very easily, his purpose this time could not be simply to prove to me that he can. Therefore his reason would have to be the latter..._

Near's cold gray eyes finished their scan of the sheets before him, his right hand returning to his hair to curl yet another strand of otherwise straight hair. There was no such taunt held within these documents.

_So it stands to reason,_ mused Near, as he began to shove the no longer useful papers away from his toys, _Mello did not ask Matt to once again break into our files, and since the SPK's existence is still unknown to both the Japanese Task Force and Kira...there is yet another party involved in this puzzle. But who in the Los Angeles area—besides Mello—knows of us and wants the information which we posses?_

"Gevanni."

Said man jumped, he had been standing there awkwardly for the last three minutes watching Near make a mess of the files he had just given him and he was beginning to think that he should probably go back to his desk when Near had suddenly sprung to life. "Yes?"

"Get in contact with Lidner. It has been too long since her last contact, and I need to know exactly where she is and what she's doing."

Gevanni nodded and headed back over to his work station, pulling up the 21 digit phone number from the database. Hal, the extremely cute yet highly secretive blond had creeped him out from day one. He sighed in annoyance. She also had a bad habit of never answering phones, even Near's specially issued secure one.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

It had been a day since the agent claiming to be John Mcenroe had shown up demanding that the Task Force hand over the Death Note and only two days since the Director's strange kidnapping. By now the official police announcement had been sent out and had had enough time to circulate through the ranks, meaning that Light was now perfectly clear to carry out the Director's murder.

As he had thought, the lipstick mark had proved to be a dead end. However, and much to Light's surprise, there had been an actual DNA residue on the card, but it had matched nothing in the system so for now it was useless information, filed away for future reference. Well, at least it was _supposed_ to be. For some reason, Matsuda would not let go of the dead lead. Even the fact that it had been a man's DNA on the mark not being enough to dissuade his ludicrous theories (Light had risked falling into hysterics when Matsuda had told the whole Force that this probably meant L was gay).

But all this nonsensical behavior wasn't the worst of it, that had come when the station's crime lab had kicked Matsuda out and he had requested to go back to L's Headquarters to utilize the lab there, claiming that it was more advanced.

Light's first instinct had been to strongly protest the idea—the place held...difficult memories for him. Unfortunately, the Task Force seemed adamant about the suggestion, and Light found that he couldn't come up with an reasonable argument against the reasoning that L's lab might be the only one to contain data on his secret enemies (still ex-lover in Matsuda's mind).

Long explanations aside, here he was, sitting in the dust covered straight backed chair that he had basically been confined to for months on end. He swore he could feel the powerful unsettling gaze of the long dead detective on his back and the slight tug of the binding silver chain on his permanently scarred wrist.

Shivering inadvertently, he rubbed at the small red marks that still adorned the otherwise perfect skin of his left wrist. It was as if no matter what he did, he could never rid himself of the eclectic detective. Kira hated it here.

A quiet shuffling sound, that turned out only to be Mogi sorting through various files, caused him to jump. Seething in anger, Light rose quickly to his feet. The search for past contacts of the detective had been absolutely fruitless—as Light had expected. The files that Light had been unable to pull from the computers five years ago remained just as tightly sealed away as ever. And while Light was sure that he could convince the others of the absurdity of the goose chase, there was still Matsuda to deal with.

Walking heatedly to the building's lab, Light found the infuriating being leaning over a device attached to one of the rooms many glowing computer screens. It wasn't even the proper machine to examine DNA residue.

"Matsuda," snapped Light in a voice that made the (surprisingly) elder man jump, "what are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Light," returned Matsuda, attempting a smile—it was not returned. "I just thought I'd try this last one, I mean it has the proper equipment to enter a DNA sequence, and nothing else here works—you were right, as always." Matsuda's voice was a bit on the nervous side. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way, it was just that, in the dim light, Light's eyes looked almost red... "I mean it couldn't hurt right?"

"Messing with things that you don't know what are capable of is never a wise decision." The coldness in Light's voice did nothing to ease the tenseness of the situation, but somehow Matsuda managed to persevere in his objective. Light sighed and slowly walked over to the dark computer screen attached to Matsuda's latest "lead". The sooner his plan failed, the sooner Light could get out of this almost haunted place.

Light shook the mouse, causing the computer screen to come to life. It took him only seconds to process the large red letters displayed on the monitor: **Primary System Override. Current Status: Lock Down**.

Light shook his head. "Matsuda, this isn't going to work. The whole thing is locked down. I can't operate it."

But whether Light's words had not registered with Matsuda, or he had just ignored them, the DNA sequence was typed into the code box at the elder man's end.

Light's annoyance at Matsuda's persistence was almost immediately overridden by shock as an advanced number matrix began to flow across the previously unresponsive screen, the word "**Processing**" flashing repeatedly on its surface. Suddenly, the meaningless numbers began to shift in their paths, altering the forms of their rows and columns, starting from the top of the screen until slowly, a shape that Light had hoped to never see again dominated the glowing monitor. Light was left staring dumbstruck at the familiar contours of a giant archaic L.

Before either man could speak, a soft, female, computer generated voice filled the room. "_DNA sequence recognized... Unlocking all primary systems... All data retrieval in process..._"

True to the synthetic voice's words, the entire building lit up, all the computers and various other equipment in the building came whirring back to life, functioning just as well as they had five years ago. All the locks and holds on every file that had been tightly sealed by Watari the day L had "died" were removed.

Light and Matsuda stared around in awe at the suddenly well lit and happily humming room. But the biggest shock of the afternoon, the one that would chill Kira down to his very core, was yet to come; the synthetic voice was not done with her cool sounding words.

"Welcome back, Master L."

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: Thank you all for reading, I hoped you enjoyed. If you want more faster please review. This summer I am updating based off of quantity and quality of reviews.

-Asiera

P.S. Now can you guys guess who the masked Lady is?


	11. Exhumed

Disclaimer: I, Asiera Heartnet, solemnly swear that I do not own Death Note, in any way, shape, or form.

**Important, Please Read!**

AN: **Warning!** **This chapter contains a heavy amount of violence near the end and a great quantity of dark qualities. Underage readers are advised to heed the rating of M for **_**Mature**_**!**

Now that that's taken care of, I'd like to give special thanks to all my reviewers. I love all my readers, but those that review hold unequivocal value in my eyes, for they are what keep me writing this wonderful story.

Please enjoy this 21 page chapter.

**DEatHNOtE:Erased**

**Chapter X**

**Exhumed**

Gevanni winced as he nearly tripped over a hazardously placed piece of Near's model train set's complex track system. The damage he would have sustained from such a fall would be minimal—even to his pride—however, the carnage that his foot would wreak on the delicate plastic model would be much more severe, and the last thing he wanted to deal with this early in the morning was Near's anger over such destruction to his toys. The only time the members of the SPK had seen the boy lose his calm demeanor and get really upset was when, in an attempt to set up the computer equipment, they had shoved Near's ever growing pile of toys out of the way with their feet. It was not an experience that any of them would like to repeat.

Still somewhat groggy from the all-nighter he'd pulled, Gevanni weaved his way through the seemingly chaotic layout of Near's childlike playthings, the dim lighting of the room making it that much more difficult. Once he had reached the center of the mass of toys, he prepared to clear his dry throat to get the young boy's attention, but the pale hand that was quickly outstretched for the document he was carrying proved that such a gesture was not necessary.

"It wasn't easy," began Gevanni, passing Near the print out, "but I was able to pin down the whereabouts of our recent hacker to a five block radius."

"And Lidner?" asked the white-haired boy as his quick eyes darted over the paper's contents.

"No luck, Sir," admitted the young SPK member. "We tried multiple times to contact her, but she is either unable, or refusing to answer her phone."

"Interesting..." Near murmured. He sighed, obviously at least a little disappointed. "At any rate, we need to figure out who this yet unknown player in our game is. Tell Commander Rester to start preparing a team to sweep the area, and please have a list prepared of all the buildings—shops, houses, businesses, abandoned buildings warehouses, and anything else of interest—and bring them to me as well as a detailed map of the area."

"Yes, Sir," nodded Gevanni, trying to keep all the disappointment that he would be forced to endure more grueling hours of work without reprieve out of his voice.

As the young man turned to leave, Near spoke again. "Oh, and Gevanni, Please get Ratt to work on locating Lidner. I want her to run point on this operation."

"Right," affirmed Gevanni, as he began picking his way over the extensive maze of toys. It was probably his imagination, but he was beginning to think that Near put out this many toys in such precarious places for the specific purpose of tripping up his subordinates.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Lady was laying on her back on a frayed dusty couch, staring at the ancient ceiling fan above her as it made it's slow, extremely squeaky, endless rotations. After Takimura's highly successful kidnapping, her and Matt had holed up in the back of some dusty specialty shop, demonstrating that Mello's vast connections extended even across oceans. As she and L had expected, the blond's plans did not stop at the Director's abduction. Proof of that was that she and Matt were still stationed in Japan, even after they had handed off the Director to one of Mello's agents.

One might have thought that she would have immediately relayed this update to the messy black-haired sleuth, but instead, she had refrained from calling him at all. As Lady figured it, the Director's fate already weighed heavily on L, and there was no sense adding to that strain. She knew very well that L was willing to do whatever it took to defeat Kira, and she was aware that L knew that short of revealing to Mello that he was still alive—an impossible outcome at this point—there was nothing L could do to alter his second successor's brash plans. The next step in Mello's scheme was bound to be even more immoral and the last thing L needed was more endangered lives on his conscious.

That being said, her decision was made much more simple by the fact that, with the "help" of the Shinigami King, she had already seen what Mello's next step would be. She didn't know if L had a soft spot for children and there was really no point in finding out.

Lady had come to this conclusion weeks ago and consequently, had nothing to entertain herself with as she and Matt waited out the long hours that hopefully would soon lead to another call from Mello. The lack of anything interesting to do caused her bored mind to wonder back to another small but undeniably altered piece of history: the special calling card she'd left for Light. That strange act had sprung from a sudden idea brought upon by an odd set of circumstances which took place on the boat ride to America with L several months ago.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

_**The salty smell that accompanied the wind sweeping across the open sea slightly lessened the normally overwhelming fumes of the polish Lady was rubbing over the already shining contours of her gun. A weary grown from the floor below caught her attention, causing her hand to still on the metal's smooth flawless surface. Leaning forward from her previously relaxed position atop one of the larger shipping crates, Lady could make out the shape of the detective laying curled up on the pile of blankets she'd collected from the maid's supply room. L had definitely not been lying when he'd said he got sea sick.**_

_**"You still doing alright?" questioned Lady as her hands once again began to deftly move the polishing cloth. **_

_**Instead of directly answering her question, L muttered, "This is why we rarely ever traveled by boat..." **_

_**By "we" he of course meant himself and Watari, but since the night they'd first met, the detective had not mentioned Quillsh Wammy once to her.**_

_**Lady sighed and, in a very cat-like manner, jumped down from the wooden crate, landing a few feet from the very pale detective. **_

_**L wanted something. **_

_**It was easy for him to hide his discomforts as he did throughout most of his life. The only times he let them show was when he desired that someone do something about them. Her guess was that he had also acted this way around Watari often and, though it was strange, she had become a sort of a replacement caretaker. Seeing as how she had failed to save L's previous guardian, it was somewhat of a fair trade. **_

_**"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, deciding that it was better to get whatever mini-task L had for her out of the way sooner rather than later. Besides, she really had nothing better to do, and the current cover of darkness would definitely assist in her efforts, though she did hope that this would not be another trip to the ship's kitchens. The last five times he'd desired something it was sweets.**_

_**The detective languidly sat up so that he could more easily look at her, drawing his knees up as he become upright. Once this action had been completed, L pointed to his lips. "The combination of my stomach sickness and the dry sea air have succeeded in making them very chapped."**_

_**Lady just blinked her long eyelashes in confusion. "...and?"**_

_**"Well naturally I was inquiring as to if you possessed any chap-stick."**_

_**Lady almost laughed, she could have thought of at least ten easier ways L could have asked, but of course, the detective would remain as cryptic as ever. "I do, but I don't think you'll want it."**_

_**L cocked his head to the side. "Lady assumes that I will not want to use it if she has already contaminated it?"**_

_**"'Contaminated' is not the word I would have chosen..." muttered Lady, crossing her arms.**_

_**L smiled slightly at her annoyance. "I assure you that though I would rather have the unused product, anything you have would be appreciated."**_

_**She smirked at his choice of the word "anything." If he hadn't referred to her lips as if they were a mild biohazard, she probably would have gone to the ship's small store to pick some up, but such a venture would have involved the loss of money and all the effort that went into applying her flesh mask properly. So instead, the still leather clad woman began rummaging through one of her rather large bags. After she found the small sought after item, she tossed it in the detective's lap.**_

_**"You said you'd use anything; it's **__**moisturizing**__** lipstick," she sang happily as L scrutinized the container of lipstick held between his thumb and forefinger. "And for the record, it's never been used, so no need to worry about 'contamination'." **_

Lady couldn't help but grin. The whole thing was so random, that it was absolutely perfect. Well, L had said he wanted to pressure Kira, and what better way was there to do it than making him doubt that his archival was infact truly dead? Lady certainly couldn't think of any.

_...DEatHNOtE... _

For the first time in Light Yagami's life, the expression on his handsome features perfectly mirrored Matsuda's, as the two men stared in shock at all the glowing monitors around them, each screen lit up with an identical finely choreographed "L". To one of them, the surrounding scenery offered a sense of deep comfort, albeit laced with confusion. To the other, the surrounding four walls and their adornments looked like something out of one of his nightmares.

The silence induced by the strong emotions flooding through both the men was suddenly interrupted by the sound of several rapidly approaching footsteps followed by the lab door bursting open, revealing the bewildered faces of the rest of the Task Force led by Mr. Yagami.

"What's going on?" questioned Light's father hurriedly. "All the systems and lights just came back on. Did you two find something?"

Light remained unresponsive, his brown almost red-tinged eyes locked with the nearest shining monitor.

Matsuda assumed that Light was in some sort of shock after what had just happened. He still believed that the younger Yagami was torn up about losing the detective and that this sudden mass thrust of his image onto Light's senses was hard on the young man. So to the surprise of the other members of the Task Force, it was Matsuda who briefed them over what had just happened.

"And after we entered the sequence into that computer," explained Matsuda, nearing the end of his tale and pointing at the machine he'd just mentioned, "everything just came back to life. There was also this voice that said, 'welcome back, Master L.' Kinda creepy, huh?"

Before Ide could point out that "creepy" was probably not the best word choice for the situation, he was cut off by Light whose gaze was still locked on the shape of the giant L they had all grown so familiar with. The way his voice almost shook when he spoke caused everyone in the room to instantly become on edge.

"The DNA...the DNA, it was his...it was L's DNA code we put into the computer."

Aizawa shook his head. "It couldn't be, Light," he said kindly. He assumed, like Matsuda, that L's death had affected Light greatly. They were both right of course, but they were completely mistaken about the way in which it had done so. "The analysis from the forensics lab back at the police station states that the decay of the genetic code was so minor that the sample could at most be a few months old."

Light jerked his head away from the screen and focused his suddenly emotional eyes on the man who had just spoken. "A few months? A few months! L's been dead for five years, Aizawa!"

Such an outburst from the usually ice cool Light Yagami was so unexpected that most the people present in the room jumped.

"I-I know," shuddered Aizawa. "That's why it can't be him. Whoever the DNA sample came from was still alive two months ago."

"Yeah," ventured Matsuda, "and besides, why would L wear pink lipstick?"

_**IDIOTS!**_ screamed Light in his head, barely refraining from actually saying it. "Why else would the systems open? Who else's DNA could possibly do that?"

"Son, calm down," said Mr. Yagami worriedly, closing the distance between him and his obviously distressed child. Light shook off the comforting hand that was placed on his shoulder.

"Maybe someone hacked into the system and changed the acceptance code," offered Mogi. "Perhaps the same person who left that calling card."

Somehow Light refrained from shouting again. "That's a wonderful suggestion, Mogi," Light challenged, his voice almost dripping with sarcasm, "except we've been trying to break these damn codes for years—_I've_ been trying to break them for years—and got absolutely nowhere. No to mention we've had the building under surveillance. No one's been here but us!" His ability to keep his voice at a stable volume wavered at the end.

"Light," said Soichiro, in what he hoped was a soothing enough tone to get his son to pull himself together, "isn't it still possible that someone could have manged it?"

Light wished he could believe his father's words, but this all seemed too perfect, too real. He had to know for sure. "I-I want his grave exhumed."

"What?" yelled everyone in unison, their astonishment clear by the looks on their faces.

"I said I want L's grave exhumed!"

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Lady turned on the special blue phone which L had hopefully hack-proofed (though the more appropriate term was Matt-proofed), long enough to see that she had missed a total of seven calls, all of them originating from the number a certain detective-in-hiding was using for the moment. Deftly she turned that phone off, dropping it into her duffel bag and removed a second, sleeker, silver phone, turning it on. A similar situation was observed here, but this time the amount of missed calls was double and the origin was completely different.

Sighing Lady turned that one off too and tossed it in with the first before switching on a third black one. Thankfully, the screen on this one revealed that she had no missed calls. _At least __he__ has some sense,_ she thought in a somewhat annoyed manner, before turning that one off as well and placing it in with the others.

"You sure you got enough phones there?" asked Matt laughing.

She didn't even glance up at the red-head as she answered. "Quite. But when you're in a career such as mine, it's a necessary precaution. My contacts and associates must have no knowledge of eachother and once I finish a job, should be unable to contact me again."

Matt smirked at her brusque matter of fact manner. She really was a professional, but of what he wasn't entirely sure. The safest bet was mercenary. For a second he found himself wondering how a pretty girl like herself had gotten mixed up in such things, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Something else was bothering him about her latest statement though. "It's a wonder you still have that one then," observed Matt, gesturing to the fourth phone she'd produced out of her supply bag. It was the same red one he'd uploaded the security codes for the highly guarded office building and downloaded the number from five years ago. It was now the phone he and Mello were using to keep in contact with their masked agent.

_If she's such an experienced professional who's supposed to disappear right after a job's completion, why did she leave that way for me to contact her open? Especially considering how I had access to that device for such a long time..._

"A wonder indeed," she said, her green eyes almost flashing as she placed it in one of her hip pockets after switching it on.

Matt nodded, deciding not to press her further—it would most likely get him nowhere—and let her return to her thoughts.

Just as before, she was on radio silence with L and would continue to be until this next kidnapping was over with. She had to admit that it was worrisome that someone like L had called her seven times, but she chalked it up to him being nervous about her absence of contact for so long and perhaps an apprehension that she'd been found out. L was one of the most capable people she'd met and he definitely was the smartest. He had been able to persevere though some of the toughest situations imaginable. He could handle himself for one more night without her help, she was sure of it.

As to the silver phone belonging to her youngest employer yet, there was no need to distract herself with anything else until her current mission was completed; even if it meant having an earful later.

Lady looked down at her watch and then glanced up and down the dark empty sidewalk that lined one of Japan's surface streets near Kokugakuin University. "She's late."

Matt just leaned back in the tattered cloth seat of second van they'd driven since they'd got to Japan. "I wouldn't worry about it. She's in college, student's schedules are never really dependable. She probably has some test she's cramming for at the library or maybe she's out with some friends. Regardless, this is the path she always takes on the way home, so we'll get her."

"I hope you're right about that. Mello won't be happy if you're wrong. Not to mention that I'm sick of commercial vans."

Matt laughed, "I couldn't agree more."

It had been about twelve hours since they'd gotten the call from Mello stating that, as Lady and L had guessed, the Director was dead. Apparently he had hung himself, though she entertained no illusions as to who had killed him; it was Kira, and she was almost sure that Mello shared in this belief with her.

After their short briefing, Mello had ordered Matt to start "phase two" which, as the techy had explained, was to kidnap Sayu Yagami. Lady couldn't have been more right to hide this information from L.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

_This is not good,_ thought L worriedly as he looked out the window down onto the city street. From his and Lady's apartment near the top of the building, he could just see the three black SUVs parked outside of a storage warehouse not two blocks from his current location.

L had known the instant that Gevanni had discovered him in the SPK's system two days ago and, though he had tried to keep Near's team from getting any information on him, he had had a sickening feeling that things were about to go very wrong. The cars, belonging to the SPK S.W.A.T. team that L had just witnessed were proof that he, as always, was right.

For the past two days L had been trying to get in contact with Lady, but the only thing he had been able to reach was her automated voice mailbox which consisted of an electronically altered voice that said only, "_leave a message," _which of course had been no help at all.

It was impossible for L to leave a message being in the predicament he was. If Lady had been discovered—which he prayed was not the case—leaving any sort of transmission could lead to Mello discovering that he was not indeed dead, as there was no way the blond would fail to recognize his voice. Even after L had set up a rudimentary voice scrambler, he could do no more than tell Lady to call him immediately and that it was of the utmost importance; it was impossible to leave any concrete information for similar reasons. Besides, he was unsure if Lady was even able to receive his messages.

This situation was infinitely problematic. L was dead to the world and therefore had no contacts other than Lady to help him. He wasn't used to doing the "field work" portion of the investigation, and he certainly hadn't been intending to start now, however, it didn't look like he was being offered a choice in the matter.

Currently, all the equipment and the room had been wiped clean of any trace that he and Lady had been here or of what they had been doing. All the important information had been saved on a jump drive that was stashed in his jean pocket. But this was just the start of what he'd _need_ to do. He needed to move all the equipment into Lady's car and erase all the footage from the apartment's many security cameras. Unfortunately, L could not do any of that safely. Now that SPK S.W.A.T. teams were sweeping the region it, was unrealistic to think that transporting that kind of equipment would not instantly get him immediately noticed.

Yet he couldn't stay here. This apartment building was no doubt on the list for being searched, and once they figured out that the name Lady had used to rent this room was an alias, it would move to the top of their list of priorities.

L had to assume that he could not rely on Lady to get him out of this mess. If he did, he'd most likely be found. L took a deep breath, steeling his resolve. He was going to have to sneak down to the security room, disable the security cameras, get into Lady's car, and get as far away from this area of town as possible, all without being caught.

"Watari always answered his phone," L mumbled heatedly as he pocketed the keys to Lady's prised mustang and headed towards the door.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

"I see her," said Lady in a stern quiet voice that was much closer to Matt's ear than he had originally thought, her proximity and the suddenness of her words causing him to jump slightly.

Looking around in the dimly lit van, Matt located Lady's hand, his blue-eyes following the path made by her outstretched finger. Sure enough, walking down the sidewalk was Sayu Yagami, tote bag over her shoulder brimming with thick heavy books. It looked like he had been right about the test cramming.

"I'm going in," she said spartanly.

"Yeah," agreed Matt, starting the van's engine. "In and ou...oh shit."

From out of the shadows of a nearby building emerged the baggily dressed forms of three grown men, all of them well muscled.

"Dammit," swore Matt in annoyance as the three burly guys walked towards Sayu, blocking her path with their combined bulk..

"We can't let her get hurt," said Lady in a monotone. "If we lose her, we lose our leverage over Mr. Yagami." She reached for the door handle.

Matt grabbed her other arm. "There can't be any witnesses."

"There won't be," returned Lady coldly enough for Matt to understand what she meant.

He still didn't let go. "If you fire your weapon, it'll attract way too much attention. Those magnums pack serious fire power.

Lady pulled her arm free. "Don't you think I know that?" She questioned in a miffed tone. "No one will hear a thing. Just be ready to drive when I get back with the girl."

Matt nodded somewhat apprehensively, lowering his hand back to the gear shift.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Sayu froze when she saw the three guys appear. She was scared, but she remembered all the serious talks her father had given her and her brother when they were young teens, before Light had grown so distant. Getting scared was exactly what they wanted her to do. She took a deep breath and kept walking. She looked straight ahead of her, keeping her head up, and refraining from meeting any of the men's eyes, her own scanning the street for any sign of possible help or an escape route.

That's when she saw the tall blond dressed in black exiting the van parked about fifty yards up the street.

The small sparkle of hope that sprang up inside of Sayu was quickly dampened as the three guys walked purposely towards her, completely barring her path and her vision of the woman.

"Hey, pretty lady," spoke the middle one, his hot onion tinged breath scorching her face. "What are you doing out here at this time of night? You know, it's dangerous to walk the streets all alone in the dark."

The other two guffawed heartily at the comment, fully understanding the irony behind it.

"I appreciate the warning," said Sayu, trying but failing to keep her voice from trembling. "But I think I'll be fine, thanks." She tried to push past them but one of them grabbed her arm.

"Why don't you stay with us, we'll protect you from all those scary thugs roaming around here," he crooned, seemingly oblivious to her struggles and protests.

"At least let us carry your books," mock begged the third, roughly yanking the bag from her arm.

Sayu was trying to remain calm but it was an extremely hard task to accomplish, what with all the horror stories of girls getting mugged, raped, murdered or all three that she knew all too well were a sick reality. As she felt more of the thugs' hands on her, she screamed and in a last ditch effort, slammed her heel down on the closest one's foot.

She had intended to utilize a self defense move her father had taught her where the attacked woman drives the full force of her heel down on the center of her attacker's foot, the full pressure of the blow being focused on the tiny point of the high heel being enough to shatter several bones in the assaulter's foot. However, things didn't turn out that way. Her aim was off and all she ended up doing was breaking the heel of her shoe off on the brute's steel toed boot.

The man grunted lightly in pain and then laughed shoving her with the full force of his hands backwards. Already off balance by the loss of a heel, Sayu tumbled to the ground, hitting her head hard on the pavement. The throbbing pain of the impact should have been tremendous, but it felt dull, almost distant. Her vision was blurred around the edges and by the trickle of blood that was dripping down her face as stars flashed before her eyes.

Sayu tried desperately to stay conscious, pushing herself up with shaking hands. She knew that if she allowed herself to slip into this forced sleep that she was doomed. But as she looked up into the laughing grinning faces of her attackers, she feared that she already was.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

The sick men were too absorbed in the thrill of their actions on the defenseless girl to hear the click of Lady's fast approaching footsteps. Sayu was on the ground by the time Lady had closed the distance between herself and the man that had shoved Sayu there.

"Hey ass-hole," she spat in a venomous voice that quite properly reminded the man of death. He tried to turn his head to see where the icy words had been uttered from, but it was suddenly gripped from behind by two strong gloved hands. Then, in an instant and with a wet cracking sound, his head was turned permanently around for him.

He was dead before he got to see who it was who was killing him.

"Leave the girl alone," she said smirking, her words punctuated by the sound of the first thug falling dead to the ground, his eyes looking blankly up to the starry heavens, his chest and still heart against the ground.

The two other men looked in horror from the chilling corpse of their companion to the masked woman before them.

A few beats passed, then the man on the left drew a six inch knife that shimmered in the light provided by the flickering street light. "You Bitch!" he yelled, charging forwards.

With cat-like reflexes Lady brought up her left magnum, extending the barrel sideways to block the heavy blow. The two weapons collided with crash, Lady's defensive move barely managing to stop the blade before it reached her fingers which gripped tightly to the gun's handle.

The man never got the chance to swing a second time.

Like lightning, Lady unholstered her other gun, pressing a dime-sized button on the weapon's side just below the safety as she brought it into play. Her action caused a razor sharp five inch blade one inch in width, to extend from the gun's grip. Then she angled her hand just left of being straight with her wrist and thrust her whole arm upwards, commanding the blade to rip a jagged diagonal gash of red in the man's throat and the underside of his now dislocated jaw.

With a sick gurgling sound, the man fell to the ground, his panicked heart pumping blood out of his severed carotid artery, shooting the red gore over four feet vertically into the air, spraying the street and three people still living around him with the last terror filled seconds of his life. He spasmed twice, then lay still, his clawing hands falling before they reached his torn throat.

Lady holstered her left, currently unbladed magnum revolver and flicked some of the extensive amount of blood off the dagger on her right fire arm. Slowly she turned to face the final criminal who was wiping at some of the blood now staining his face, his hands shaking, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The last of the three men alive had never once been called extremely intelligent in the entire thirty-two years of his life, but he knew enough to understand that the approaching blood splattered she-devil had killed his two friends and was going to kill him if he didn't do something now. He made the wisest decision anyone in his position could have made at that point, he began to retreat.

The horrified sputtering man began to back away from the masked woman bearing death by a bladed gun. His attempt at escape was short lived however, he only made it a few meters before he tripped over one of the books that had been spilled from Sayu's discarded book bag. The exact culprit a thick, hard-backed book titled _Justice and Morality_ who's cover was illustrated with a now red stained set of golden scales. Sayu had found it at the library and had been intending to show it to her older brother. Now it served as an ironic deliverer of fate.

The final thug tumbled and fell, sprawled on his back on the blood soaked pavement. Sniveling and begging for mercy, he scrambled backwards on his hands frantically trying to escape his quite inevitable death.

He didn't get far.

In a flash Lady closed the distance between them, pinning him by means of a blood flecked leather boot to the ground. Then she knelt down on one knee, still keeping her right leg perfectly in place, her heel digging into the soft flesh of his gut, causing him to wriggle like an impaled worm.

"P-p-please!" he sputtered, begging for his miserable life. "I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry. I-I w-won't d-d-do i-it again!"

"Look at me," ordered Lady in a cold voice.

"I-I p-p-promise," begged the man, looking anywhere but at the masked woman.

"I said, Look At Me!" Lady yelled, her voice causing the man to jump.

Trembling and with eyes filled with tears, the man focused his gaze on the ferocious being above him.

In a slow deliberate motion, Lady removed her mask.

Whatever it was that the man saw in that face caused his eyes to widen and his cries for mercy to intensify. They had little to no effect on the woman kneeling over him, his pleas bouncing off her like rain on a steel roof.

Lady's green eyes almost glowed like a cat's as they bored into his own. The hysterical man felt as if those eyes were ripping through his soul, seeing straight down to his deepest darkest secrets. He felt completely exposed, as if there was nowhere to hide.

Lady smirked as she looked away. "There is no remorse in you, only fear and hatred. You are not sorry."

"N-n-no, I-I am."

Lady grabbed the man's head in her gloved hands and positioned it above the concrete curb between the sidewalk and the grassy park that had been on their left.

The crying man struggled but to no avail as she lifted his head up. "Please, please! I can change! I can change!"

"No, you can't, because today I judge you _guilty_," she hissed, and with her last word, slammed the man's head down on the concrete slab, shattering his scull with the force of her blow.

The man's fingers which had just found the hilt of his pocket knife in his left pocket become limp.

Sayu stared hazily at the tall blond kneeled over one of the men who had attacked her. Everything had happened so quickly...she wasn't at all sure what had transpired. All she knew was one moment she was staring up at the lust filled faces of the three thugs and the next... She only remembered flashes of the long blond haired woman fighting off the thee men. In Sayu's mind, Lady had saved her life, and her mind wasn't functioning well enough to connect the blood soaked ground with an unnecessarily violent rescue.

After replacing her crimson specked mask on her face, Lady made her way over to the young girl who had just managed to push herself into a somewhat upright position, supported by her shaking arms. The sight of that poor girl whom she was about to put through so much caused a moderate tinge of remorse to jolt through her chest. This girl had done nothing to deserve what had just happened or what was about to, yet she had to bear the suffering anyway. Was there really anything such as justice in this world?

Lady moved over to Sayu and knelt before her. "Are you alright?" she asked in a kind voice that she rarely got to use these days.

"I hit my head pretty bad," she muttered lifting her delicate fingers to gently touch the source of the blood tricking down her pale features. "I'm really dizzy, and my ankle's twisted," she continued pointing the the foot that no longer possessed a heeled shoe, "but other than that, I think I'm okay."

Lady was surprised by such an informative and potentially helpful answer. Mr. Yagami had trained his children well, at least one of them at any rate.

"Did you black out at all?" asked Lady.

Sayu began to shake her head but then stopped. "No, I don't think so. Everything's kinda hazy, but I'm pretty sure I stayed conscious."

"That's good. You're going to be fine. Let's get you to a hospital, miss..."

"Yagami," finished Sayu. "Sayu Yagami. My dad's a police chief. I need to call him."

"Okay," agreed Lady soothingly, we'll call him as soon as we get going." Lady gently helped the injured girl to her feet.

"S-shouldn't we call an ambulance?" asked Sayu uncertainly, as she gingerly got to her feet.

"No, that would take too long," explained Lady smiling. "If we drive there in my car we don't have to wait for the paramedics, we can go straight there."

"Alright," affirmed Sayu, not really in any position to argue. _Besides, this woman just saved my life, why would she go to all that trouble if she wanted to hurt me?_

_Way too trusting,_ thought Lady somewhat sadly. _At least, after this, she won't be making that mistake again..._

By the time Lady had guided Sayu to the car and helped her in the back seat, the girl had regained most if not all of her balance. Lady got in the back with her and instructed Matt to drive to the nearest hospital."

The red-head gave her a funny look which she ignored. Quickly she pulled out a handkerchief enclosed in a plastic bag from the side door pocket and removed the vial of heavy sedative, dousing the item with it. She was reminded momentarily of what Mello's men had tired to do to her in the club. It was doubtful that Sayu would be so lucky.

"I'd like to call my father now," stated Sayu.

Lady nodded. "Sure thing Yagami-san. While I do that, why don't you use this to stop the bleeding?" inquired Lady holding up the drugged item.

"Okay," said Sayu, reaching for the proffered cloth. "His number is 95-"

In a fast fluid motion Lady pressed the cloth to the girl's face, holding it place.

Sayu Yagami was out before she even had time to get scared.

"Call Mello," said Lady, as she gently laid Sayu down in the back seat and re-bagged the drugged cloth, her hard matter of fact tone back in place. "Tell him we have the subject."

"You still want me to go to the hospital?" joked the red-head. "I thought that all that blood was their's, but if you're hurt, we might have time to get a few stitches."

Not really in the mood for Matt's happy-go-lucky nature, Lady glared. "What do you think?" she deadpanned as she bound and gagged the unconscious girl.

"Sorry, guess that wasn't the time."

"Just know that if she's suffering from cranial hemorrhaging right now and dies because of it, it'll be your fault for holding me back."

Matt really didn't know how to respond to that one.

"Drive, and not to a hospital," said Lady, her tone ever so much lighter than usual.

Matt smirked, getting that that was supposed to be a joke and relieved that she had diffused the tension so quickly. "Right," he said putting the van in gear.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Light, Mr. Yagami, and Matsuda stood over L's now open grave. The nearly blank headstone who's only adornments were the name, "_Ryuzaki_" and the date of his death, "_November 5 2004_" lay several feet away next to the pile of damp earth that had once been covering the coffin.

Five years ago on the day of L's funeral Light, had found the lack of any sentimental phrase, a last name, or even a birth date to be highly appropriate. To be buried under an alias only remembered by the day that he died—it was a final insult to the "great" detective's memory and had sent Light into hysterics after he was alone with the cold body of L laying beneath his feet.

Light had screamed his victory to the heavens and whatever manner of deity resided among them and left long animalistic claw marks on the grave's covering layer of earth as he imagined worms and maggots further disgracing his lithe form. The thought that all this had been done in vain, that it was another man's corpse that he had claimed everlasting victory over, that L could still be alive, slouched in the shadows somewhere, made Kira feel sick to his very core.

Light felt an unimaginable apprehension as the coffin was removed from what should have been an eternal tomb, dragging memories and feelings that should have been equally sealed to the surface with it—memories and emotions that Light had not felt since he'd lost all memories of the Death Note and even more powerful ones from the day he had murdered Ryuzaki.

Light clenched and unclenched his fists, his nails digging mercilessly into his flesh with each contraction of his fingers, as the two grave yard workers pried the sarcophagus open.

Once the top was removed and the occupant reviled, Kira screamed in agony, writhing like dying asp, and Light Yagami fell to his knees before the open casket, the sound of the long absent Shinigami's laughter echoing in his ears. The man inside was not L, not even close; even in its rotten maggot ridden condition he could tell that. Clutched under the corps' crossed hands was a hand written note, and even though the paper was soaked and stained with the body's decomposing juices, the message was still readable.

"_**I am **__**Justice**__**, and Justice Will Never Die!"**_

-Asiera


	12. Better Backup

Sumimasen. I am terribly sorry for this long and excusable wait between updates and will not bother you with excuses. For all those readers who have diligently stayed with me up until this point despite the enormous gap between my posts, I am deeply grateful. I hope this **28** paged addition will do something to atone for my prolonged absence.

_**DEatHNOtE:Erased**_

_**Chapter XI**_

_**Better Backup**_

Misa Amane was running a brush gently through her long blond locks as she hummed the catchy repetitive tune of a newly released pop song. The happy carefree girl was haphazardly posing in front of the large bathroom mirror located in her's and Light's apartment. The unbelievable fact that this was _her's _and Light's apartment, that she had finally achieved her lofty goal of living with the man she loved above all else, that she could at last call him _her's_, that kind of boundless joy was impossible to contain and would always cause an electrifying thrill to shoot down her spine, leaving her almost breathless every time she contemplated it.

She beamed at her equally ecstatic reflection which greeted her with adorable doe brown eyes. The public liked them when they were a mischievous enchanting green and their favorite was the stunning blue she usually displayed during her shoots. But despite her strong desire to please others, her favorite color for her glittering orbs was their own natural brown. Besides, putting on colored contacts all the time was a hassle, and furthermore, Light's eyes were also a gorgeous shade of brown. Just thinking about her lover's strong eyes caused that wonderful warm tingling feeling to envelop her core once more.

Thus pleased with the perfect appearance of her hair and face, Misa turned her attention to the rest of her girlish form. At the moment, she was clad in a set of black, lacy, and mostly transparent intimate nightwear which perfectly accented her slim curves. She'd picked her attire up at her latest lingerie shoot, and she had a feeling that Light would be very pleased with it. Light really wasn't the kind of person to verbally express his appreciation of her looks but, he had more...physical ways of showing her how he felt, and that was fine with her.

In lieu of all the happy thoughts bouncing excitedly though Misa's mind it was surprising that the slight pout currently resting at the corner of her full lips had found its way onto her usually joyful features. The reason for the pout could also be traced back to the center of her universe and continued reason for existence. Recently her Light had been so stressed. Well, with the director's kidnapping and everything else that had been going on she could hardly blame him, but she just hated seeing him so on edge.

Before this whole kidnapping fiasco, Light had been calm. It wasn't a happy relaxed sort of calm, but more like a predatorial confidence that a deadly hunter possesses as it's stalking prey that it's assured to kill. But now that his previously guaranteed victory was threatened, even minutely so, that glassy calm had shattered and was being replaced by an almost violent nature that drove him to yell and snap easily. Such changes made Light almost frightening to be around as if there was something terrible and inhuman lurking within the depths of his amber, red flecked eyes.

Misa's pout deepened into a full frown. She couldn't stand seeing her beloved Light as scary or frightening, in fact, she refused to. This blatant disregard for the truth that only the dead detective seemed to have been able to fully embrace left Misa right in the path of Light's ever growing wrath and often caused him to lash out at her. Thus far it had only been verbally—something the young Yagami excelled at—and though Misa would have staked her life on the fact that Light would never raise his hand to her, she wasn't known for her gambling skills.

In actuality, the thing that bothered Misa the most about their current situation was the fact that she was helpless to ease his problems. All she could do was obediently follow his explicit orders for who to kill and how to do it, just as she had followed his orders a few days ago to kill Takimura.

Misa could not even begin to describe the pain she felt when Light would suffer from his seeming violent nightmares, tossing and turning next to her, murmuring desperate apologies over and over to some unforgiving relentless being that dwelled only within his own mind. At first she'd tried to comfort him, to wake him up and hold him. However, after the first six or so times she had been roughly shoved away and yelled at for her loving intentions, she had taken to just sitting next to him, uselessly holding her knees, wishing desperately that she could do something, anything to help him.

All such depressing thoughts instantly vanished from her mind however when she heard the front door open and shut and saw the kitchen light flick on, illuminating the base of the stairs.

_Light's home!_ she mentally singsonged. And with one last quick look at the mirror to make sure she was really as cute as Misa-ly possible, she happily traipsed down the wooden stairs taking them two at a time. The sight that met her eyes immediately caused her to falter. The man before her was slouched almost as heavily as Ryuzaki had been. His eyes which flashed with anger were darting in an almost panicked manner around the room, as if he were a cornered animal frantically searching for an escape, and he was so tense with fury and frustration that he was actually shaking.

In all the years Misa had been with Light and assisted him as the Second Kira, she'd never seen him look like this. The constantly chuckling form of Ryuk hovering over his shoulder only strengthened Misa's initial perception that something was terribly wrong. She had to take several deep breaths and remind herself over and over again that this was Light, he loved her and there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Light?" she questioned uncertainly, her bare feet padding cautiously towards him.

In response he violently threw his bag to the floor causing Misa to jump and turned his attention to to the hysterical Shinigami he had been forced to ignore ever since the creature's sudden appearance at the exhuming of L's grave. "Shut the hell up you miserable Shinigami!" he cried, his voice almost cracking under the strain he was experiencing.

Ryuk waved his clawed hands in front of his widely grinning face. **"Hey Light, don't get mad at me, I've got nothin' to do with it. It's not my fault if you can't properly kill someone."** he admonished with a shrug.

Light rounded on the dark figure haunting him with increased vigor. "You knew, didn't you? You knew this whole time he wasn't dead! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Light was screaming so loudly now that Misa was fearful the neighbors would hear, and what was worse, she had no idea what was wrong.

**"Whoa, whoa hold it, Light,"** protested the apple addict, **"I never said he was or wasn't dead, or even that I knew which it was myself. And even if I did know, you should know better than to believe that I'd let you in on a secret as juicy as that one. It wouldn't benefit me in the least. Remember,"** laughed Ryuk, wagging a single finger before the livid man's face, **"I'm just here for the show, I'm not an actor in it and I don't intend on signing up for the roster any time soon. But just to let you know, I can't wait to see how this is going to play out..."** With those last words the Shinigami took flight and disappeared through the apartment's first floor ceiling.

Silence fell over the two still standing at the base of the steps. The only sound in the apartment was the sound of Light's ragged breathing.

"Light please," beseeched Misa, stepping closer to him, "tell me what's wrong? Did something happen with the kidnappers?" she asked in as soothing a way as possible, trying to keep the heavy amount of anxiety she was feeling out of her voice.

Light turned, regarding her with his crimson tinged eyes. He didn't seem to even acknowledge her current attire. The clothes did nothing to still his anger as she had hopped they might. In fact the stupid ordering of Misa's priorities only irritated him more.

"L," Light spat the name like it was poison, "h-he wasn't in his grave." His words were deadly and spoken in a whisper, but as terrifyingly as they were spoken, they were also bewilderingly absurd. Where else would L be? He'd been dead for a little over five years now. Light wasn't making any sense.

A soft, "What?" was all Misa could manage in response to such confusion.

Almost schizophrenically, Light rounded on her, pinning her frightened body against the wall, a shaking hand on either side of her shocked face. "I said, Ryuzaki wasn't in his grave, Misa! There was someone else buried there! That on top of the fact that it was his _fresh_ DNA we found on the kidnappers' calling card makes it highly likely that he's still _Alive_!" Light bellowed.

Misa flinched away from him, salty tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. This is why she hated Ryuzaki so much. She hated the way he could do this to Light, how he could hurt Light so much and twist him into the frantic animal that now stood before her.

"B-but, Rem killed him," shuddered Misa, unable to meet the raging almost blood colored eyes that were a twisted version of the kind honey ones she loved, "that's why she d-died. I-I mean you s-saw him die, right?"

"That's not the point!" Light practically screamed in her face. "The fact is that no matter what I _thought_ there is now a strong possibility that L is alive! That that son-of-a-bitch is out there making me look like a fool and that everything up until this point has been a lie, a _fake_!" His voice dropped to a steely whisper and his eyes lowered away from the frightened girl's face to glower at the wooden floor. "My victory...my acclaimed title..._everything_..."

Misa took in a deep shaking breath and forced herself to focus on her lover's wrath filled face. She might not be at same level of intelligence that Light was, hell, she might not even be close to it, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help him.

"Light," she murmured calmingly, placing a warm hand on his cheek. He brusquely shoved it aside looking like he was about to start yelling again. Despite the brush off, Misa persisted, locking her gaze with his burning one. "Light, check the Death Note."

Light blinked, his surprise at her shockingly logical solution plainly visible.

"We have Rem's Notebook and we know she died because she killed Ryuzaki and Watari. If you have any doubts that they _both_ actually died, all you have to do is check Rem's Death Note."

Light's demeanor began to calm, his ragged frantic breathing returning to stable rhythm, a flush of shame due to his recent actions coming with it. He'd never thought of Misa as someone he could turn to for advice, let alone rely on, and he was sure he didn't like that that's exactly what had just happened. Misa was no where near being his equal and the fact that she'd stayed calm and collected while he was fraying at the seams made him realize just how desperate the situation really was. It was as if he could not stably exist in this world if L was still alive.

Light nodded mutely and removed his hands from where they rested against the wall on either side of Misa's now much more relaxed face. Several short seconds later he was walking briskly up the steps.

A few days ago, a peruse of Rem's Death Note would have entailed a trip into the woods with a shovel, but, since the director's kidnapping, Light had wanted all the Death Notes they possessed close by as he now had little idea what to expect—a feeling he absolutely loathed.

Once they'd reached the upper landing and opened the door that led to the couple's bedroom, the first sight that met Light's gaze was Ryuk's absurd form sprawled out on the bed he and Misa shared, typical gleaming red apple crunching between his razor sharp teeth. The Shinigami grinned, eyes darting over to the dresser where the two Death Notes were hidden.

**"Took you long enough,"** he drawled in his deep scratchy voice. **"I was getting bored."**

Light seethed. Not only had Misa arrived at the conclusion of checking Rem's Notebook before he had, but Ryuk had as well. Light could not afford to keep going like this. He had to pull himself together or he wouldn't prevail against this new enemy let alone L if, God forbid, he was actually still among the living. Saying he was rusty was no excuse, he could not make any mistakes.

Not even deigning Ryuk a reply, Light moved silently over to the dresser. His skilled fingers made quick work of the evolved version of the explosive drawer trap he had used in his room during one of L's period's of intense surveillance. Within seconds he was flipping through the ivory pages irrevocably marked by the permanence of the deep black inked death sentences. The cool smoothness of the irreversible pen strokes further helped to sooth his rapidly beating heart. There was no possible way that anyone could have survived their name being written in a notebook of death, not even the resourceful Ryuzaki. He had won, he had killed that ephemeral dark eyed detective, he—

Light's comforting thoughts stopped dead in their tracks as his trembling fingers moved over the marred surface of the charred pages at the center of Rem's Death Note.

Light's sharp mind had of course recalled the female Shinigami's dismal attempt at trying to stop him from getting his already blood stained hands on her Death Note. He knew that the flames had eaten away at a few of the Notebook's pages rendering it charred but by no means unusable. What Light had never realized was that the flickering flames could have possibly licked away the most important piece of knowledge he had ever needed in his entire 23 years of living.

_What...what if it's not there. What if the page has been destroyed...what then?_ It wasn't possible. If such an event were to come to pass, Light had no idea what he'd do. The thought that the forever unending uncertainly, the continuation of this terrible emotion he was feeling right now would never be resolved... it was unbearable. Even _knowing_ L was alive—as horrible as that would be—was better than this twisting writhing emptiness caused by the lack of such an important piece of knowledge.

But as much as this horrible apprehension of never discovering the truth was, that dread was not the only thing causing the secession of his quick flipping through the notebook's charred pages. There was something else...

Though many would find it odd, Light had never before looked at the page that contained Ryuzaki's true name. In the past he'd written it off as unnecessary, unusable information and even told himself that he'd rather the cryptic sleuth disappear from his mind without ever knowing the man's true name. But the truth was, it was fear that had kept him away; a fear that he couldn't admit to himself let alone describe in any significant detail.

L as a symbol, as a faceless opponent, as a mere machine was easier to deal with—to kill. Light wasn't sure why, but deep down inside he was terrified to face L's death as a human being, as a person that he'd once called his friend and meant it—even if it had been under the guise that he'd never been Kira during his time without the memories of the Death Note and anything that he'd accomplished with it. It was as though he felt that some already fragile cracking part of him would shatter completely if he were to gaze at those simple black pen strokes.

Despite his many uncertainties and trepidations, Light forced himself to continue turning the soot smudged pages. Suddenly his movements jolted to a halt and all at once any sort of pain that could have been wrought on his already twisted psyche by seeing the great L's true name became absolutely meaningless. Any sort of punishment, no matter how horrible, would have been better than this.

The page that Light's wide shaking eyes were staring at, barely able to focus—the only sheet of paper in the entirety of the world that meant anything to him—had been almost completely consumed by the greedy flames leaving nothing but a charred mess attached loosely to the binding. Light could make out Watari's real name: _Quillsh Wammy_, written in small wispy scrip, but underneath it, all that remained of L's demise was a single straight backed L whose bold tail running parallel to the lines on the page disappeared into the uncertainly of the crumbling ashes where the rest of his name should have resided.

There was no proof that L was dead.

**"Well I'll be damned..."** chuckled Ryuk, who had come to hover near Light's left shoulder.

Kira howled in rage, his cry reverberating though the apartment, echoing up to the heavens, communicating his unbridled wrath to any deity that dared to proclaim control over the sick twisted joke that had become his very existence.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

Mello stretched out on the frayed leather couch residing in the main room of the Mafia's current hideout in a way very much akin to a lazy tom cat, possessing the smug expression to match. He grinned widely as the sharp snap of the chocolate now held between his teeth jumped across the quiet room. Right now he felt as though he was the ruler of much more than the mafia; _everything_ was going exactly according to his brilliant plan.

He'd recently received the call from Matt stating that the kidnapping of the Kira Task Force leader's daughter had been a complete success. As soon as the video feed was established he would gleefully inform the already distraught Task Force of her capture. He was especially looking forward to hearing the panic in Chief Yagami's voice.

Mello began to twirl a stray thread hanging off the seam of one of the surrounding cushions, imagining how, much like this string, he had all the major players in this riveting game wrapped around his finger. Kira, the Japanese Police Force, and best of all, Near were dancing to his tune.

Even the director's suicide/murder had played to his advantage. His death and the rather gruesome pictures documenting it that Mello planned on sending Japan's incompetent Kira Task Force would prove to them just how serious he was and exactly how far he was willing to go to get what he desired. And if it turned out—as he suspected—that Kira had actually killed Takimura, then that meant that he had successfully manipulated his mentor's murderer as well. That was a little fact that he'd make sure to rub in the coward's face once _he'd_ successfully avenged L and brought Kira to justice.

Another piece of the chocolate bar was noisily broken off and savored between Mello's lips. For the first time in a long time he was in such a good mood that he didn't even mind waiting for Matt and Lady to establish the video link from the underground facility in the Californian desert.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

The first thing that Sayu noticed when she woke up was that her head felt as if it were going to split in two. The intense headache was so bad that for the first few minutes of her regained consciousness all she could do was grit her teeth and try to somehow escape the pain. However, as the minutes ticked by and she became more awake, the pain began to lessen—either that or it wasn't near as bad as she had first thought. Regardless, now that the intense hurting had subsided, there was room for much more terrifying thoughts to worm their way into her now panicked mind which was currently racing through the events of a few hours ago.

For a moment Sayu wished that her headache, courtesy of the now dead thugs and exacerbated by the drugs her would be savior had dosed her with, was still the only thing pounding across her brain. That wish was but brief though, for Sayu Yagami had vastly more important things to worry about.

_Where am I? What do these people want with me? Did they come after me because my dad's a police chief or... Does this have something to do with the Kira investigation?_

Sayu forced her racing thoughts and breaths down to a somewhat normal rate—well at least to one where she wasn't hyperventilating. She had to stay calm and try to figure out what her next best move would be.

_Okay_, she spoke calmingly to herself, _first things first. I need to figure out where I am._ A careful look around her didn't reveal much. Currently she was sitting in the center of a dingy looking, dimly lit room. It was mostly barren, its only adornment being the pile of ratty blankets she'd been laying on. The only source of light was trickling though the room's door which looked formidable to say the least. It appeared like it was made of metal complete with a small barred window at it's top.

All in all her surroundings felt more like a dungeon than a room except for the fact that it wasn't damp. The surrounding air had a hot but very dry feel as it was pumped through her lungs. Sayu had never been to a desert before, but she imagined that this was how such a place would feel.

_If that's true_, she realized with a shudder, _then that means I'm a very long way from home..._

That thought cause salty tears to prickle at her eyes; the first of a giant cascade she was barely able to hold back.

Blinking hard, she managed to only become bleary eyed for a few seconds. She couldn't afford to show any weakness now. Reaching up to wipe at the escaped tears mixing with the grime covering her cheeks, Sayu discovered the first pleasing fact since the moment she'd been assaulted back on Japan's surface streets: She wasn't bound; not her hands nor her feet.

Sayu stood experimentally and cautiously made her way towards the windowed door and the dusty shaft of light filtering though it. Her stiff limbs and throbbing head offered some resistance but she pushed through it. The source of her strength and determination? A mental image of her older brother who was perhaps the person she admired most in this world—a image that was shockingly unlike what her brother had twisted himself into. Though she doubted Light would have ever gotten himself into this situation in the first place, she was certain he wouldn't just sit there on the floor praying for a miracle.

She had almost reached the door when an amused laugh echoing from the other side of it froze her in her tracks. The cruelty hiding behind the guise of humor reminded Sayu strongly of the laughs of the thugs who had attacked her a few hours ago.

"So I see you finally woke up miss Yagami," observed a sly greasy voice spoken in English. Moments latter, a ratish face that matched the voice perfectly became framed by the iron bars making up the prison cell's door window. "I don't suppose you need anything? Some food, water, blankets? Or maybe you just need some company, eh?"

Sayu's English was not half as good as her brother's who could just about speak the language perfectly without hardly a sign of an accent, but she knew enough to tell that she wanted nothing to do with the man. As such, she took several quick steps backwards into the darkness of her cell. Her fear, which she'd just been managing to keep at bay, began clutching mercilessly at her pounding heart and making it hard to breath properly.

The man just smirked at her actions. "Come now miss Yagami, I only want to help..." he crooned.

Sayu heard the lock on the door click and felt her entire being freeze solidly in place. _He's going to come in here._ The panicked thought crackled though her racing mind like a hot burst of lightning, yet she still couldn't bring herself to move.

Just as the door had started to creek open the man's grinning face vanished, replaced momentarily by a flash of shining black and blond before the window once again became empty. A split second latter the sound of something heavy being slammed up against a wall thudded though the dry air.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Y462?" inquired an icy voice. The words were also spoken in English, but the speaker's voice sounded familiar.

"I-I just..." stammered the man apparently called by the code Y462 .

"You just what? Thought you'd pay Mr Yagami's daughter a little visit? Keep her company? Was that it?" Her voice dropped from mocking to a threatening growl during her last words and Sayu heard the man give a startled sort of yelp. His cry when coupled with the woman's inflection convinced Sayu that something painful was being done to the man.

"Y-you're just a hired hand. An errand girl! Y-you've got no right to threaten me!" The man's message and delivery were a million miles apart in their confidence level.

"Oh really?" sneered the woman, and Sayu heard the metallic sound of a gun being cocked. "You wanna bet your life on it 'Big' Man?" she questioned in a mocking tone.

He whimpered.

"The man I run 'errands' for has already had it up to _here_ with you," hissed the woman, doing something to her hostage that cause him to cry out again, "and I'm certain that he wouldn't be the least bit put off by my leaving you here, lying in the middle of the floor, bleeding with a hole big enough for me to fit my entire fist into right in the middle of your disgusting face. You still wanna try your luck? We can play some Russian Roulette if you'd like..." she offered in a voice that spoke mountains about her sanity.

Sayu only understood about a third of what was being said by the two outside her cell, but the little she comprehended was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"This mission was supposed to be your redemption in the Mafia's eyes, clean your slate right?" Well, you lay one finger on this girl and you won't live long enough to worry about your bad rep anymore. Do I make my self perfectly clear?" she hissed in a voice that was beyond threateningly.

"Crystal," whispered Y462.

There was a heavy thump as the man's shaking body hit the concrete floor.

"Go on, scurry out of here, you piece of trash."

A clanging sound echoed throughout the hallway as Y462 rapidly obeyed her command; almost frantic to get out of the woman's immediate vicinity. For a few seconds, all was silent, and Sayu's wide eyes were drawn to the crack of light shinning from the slightly ajar cell door.

_Why didn't I notice that before!_ She wailed internally. _I could have escaped while they were __fighting!_ Sayu wasn't sure where she'd escape to, but anywhere was better than here. _Maybe there's still time_, prayed Sayu inching quickly towards the strip of light that signified a way out. _Maybe that woman didn't realize he'd left the door open. _But the moment before the youngest Yagami reached the door, it was opened; sweeping inwards to reveal the form of an imposing looking masked woman dressed entirely in black leather. Sayu had barely stopped in time to prevent running into the terrifying figure.

Looking up into the woman's shimmering green eyes she realized with a jolt that this woman towering over her, with the help of six inch black heels, was the same one who had saved her and then turned around and kidnapped her a few minutes later. Looking back on the incident, Sayu couldn't believe how stupid she had been to just get in the car with this lady. Sayu guessed that she had been in too much of a shock to see the violent method of her rescue as the giant red flag that it was, but she had no idea how she'd been able to disregard the woman's ornate facial covering as unimportant.

"What...what do you want with me?"sputtered Sayu in nervous Japanese.

The masked female cocked her head to the side in thought before answering in a nearly perfect version of the girl's native language. "Saying I'm sorry for Yagami-san's current predicament, despite my sincerity, would mean close to nothing, so let's just skip over that part of the conversation shall we?"

_She's sorry? _Thought Sayu in anger._ Well she's right about her apology being meaningless..._

"As for what we want... my associate and I brought Yagami-san here in order to initiate a trade with Yagami-san's father."

Sayu blinked in confusion. "B-but he's just a police chief, he doesn't have enough money for a ransom!"

Lady sighed. "Really, the less Yagami-san knows about this the better off she'll be."

Sayu fixed the woman with a glare. "I _deserve _to know why I was kidnapped."

The determination in Sayu's voice actually caused Lady to smile. _That's good... I thought you'd given up but it seems you've still got some fight in you. Perhaps you're stronger than I thought._

"Yagami-san's father is the head of the Japanese Task Force charged with investigating and pursuing Kira. What we desire is not money but a vital...piece of evidence which is currently in the possession of said Task Force.

The captive girl's eyes widened. "Y-you're working for Kira!" she whispered in shock. Sayu couldn't think of any other reason why anyone would what to hinder the investigation by taking something dubbed as a "vital piece of evidence". _Maybe dad and Light are closer to solving the case than they were letting on..._

Lady let out a full blown laugh; a harsh sound that twisted glee with malice and cold irony into an icy blend that sent shivers down the girl's spine.

"Oh no," chortled Lady. "Yagami-san couldn't be farther from the truth. The 'organization' I work for desires nothing more than the complete and utter cessation of Kira's existence. It's actually Yagami-san's beloved Task Force that has fallen prey to the ever extending shadow of Kira's twisted will."

_She's insane,_ thought Sayu fearfully; doubt covering her features, _absolutely insane. She has to be. There is no way that Kira has infiltrated the Task Force or is somehow influencing it...is there?_

Lady's laughter ceased. "Whether Yagami-san chooses to believe me or not is up to her and makes little difference in the long run. Though, I hope this experience has taught Yagami-san not to throw her trust around so carelessly and that even people who Yagami-san believes have her best interests at heart are the people who are close enough to stab her in the back.

"Anyway," continued the masked woman, "take one or two of these and drink this," she instructed producing a rattling bottle of pills from her pocket and leaning outside the still semi open door to grab a steaming mug of a brownish liquid that smelt like coffee. "It'll help with the extreme headache I'm sure Yagami-san is experiencing right now."

The girl made no move to take the proffered items, shaking her head.

Lady grinned. "Good Yagami-san is learning," she praised. She unscrewed the container and dumped a single pill in her hand which she quickly swallowed with a swig of the liquid. "They're Excedrin Migraine," she said with a grimace, "and coffee. Personally I can't stand the stuff but it's high in caffeine and that works wonders on migraines. Not to mention that Yagami-san is most likely dehydrated."

Sayu still remained motionless.

"As Yagami-san wishes," she shrugged. "I'll leave them here in case you change your mind." After setting the pills and drink on the floor the masked woman turned and walked to the cell's door. Just before disappearing through it, she turned to the youngest Yagami, her emerald green eyes burning into the girl's brown ones. "If you do everything we say," said the woman, her polite form of address slipping, "if you don't try anything stupid, I promise that I won't let anyone here hurt you. Remember that. However, once you leave this facility I'll consider my debt repaid and the rest will be up to you. Understand?"

Sayu nodded almost involuntarily. She had no idea what this woman was talking about but she did know that she didn't trust her, and that even if she got out of here in one piece as the woman had promised, they were by no means even.

Then the door slammed shut and was locked. The strange woman was gone, her sharp heel clicks fading into absolute silence and solitude.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

"Light...?" ventured Misa cautiously. "Light what's wrong? Why are you shaking?" She gently placed a timid hand on his swaying shoulder, wishing he'd turn around so she could see his face.

When Light spoke, his voice was so quiet it could barely be considered a whisper. "I-it's not here. H-his name...it's not here."

"What?" she breathed in shock. "But it has to be Light, there's no way he's—"

Misa's high worried voice was cut off by a sharp smacking sound and the next thing she knew, she was crumpled on the cold wooden floor of their bedroom, hand held in absolute horror and disbelief to the side of her red stinging face. The man who had just backhanded her towered ruthlessly above her, his fearful panicked eyes literally shining with a murderous blood red as they glowered down at her prone vulnerable form.

Even Ryuk took an awed step back from the almost demonic looking human. _**Well it looks like the perfect boy finally cracked...**_ mused the Shinigami. _**He held out for quite some time but eventually, everyone succumbs to the madness of the Death Notes... **_

"Don't you get it?" Light practically screamed at the horrified girl beneath him. "His name isn't written here, it probably never was! The pages were burned by that wretched bitch of a Shinigami, not to keep me from claiming her Notebook, but to keep me blind to the truth until it was too late!"

Light's frantically chaotic brain turned the possibility that L was still alive into an unalterable fact that he _was_. _It's too perfect. How could there be any other conclusion? He's alive. He's not dead. He's Alive...He's ALIVE...HE'S ALIVE!_

"L's not dead! He never was!" Light yelled, his voice punctuated by random bouts of humorless insane laughter. "This has all been some sick game throughout which I've been dancing like a marionette on his goddamned strings!"

As Misa helplessly watched the scene above her continue to unfold, becoming more and more warped by the second, she felt an uncontrollable fear well up inside her rapidly rising and falling chest. Her heart, which was beating faster and faster with each passing second began to crack as she came to realize that it was Light, her Light, whom she loved with every fiber of her being, that she was so scared of.

Uncaring of the broken way Misa was looking at him though her tear filled eyes, or perhaps even reveling in it, Light continued his crazed rant. "If you had even an ounce of intelligence in that empty skull of yours, you'd realize the direness of the situation, but apparently, you have the perceptiveness of a self-obsessed wannabe starlet whose only true usefulness resides in the bedroom!"

Although the blow to her face had been hard, she didn't even feel the pain anymore. Light's words cut her so much more deeply than any blade ever could have.

"In fact," Light advanced a step forwards and Misa couldn't help but flinch back, "the more I think about it, the more I realize that this whole godforsaken situation can be traced back to _you._"

A twisted grin enveloped the watching Shinigami's face as the anticipation of the upcoming excitement filled him. _**I wonder if he'll kill her. That would be interesting but... **_his smirk lessened slightly, _**who'd give me apples then?**_

"If it wasn't for your constant need of protection causing me to alter my carefully plotted schemes, then maybe I could have seen this coming," raged the mass murderer. "Actually, if you'd have died when you were supposed to, then I never would have had to have been taken into L's custody in the first place!" Though he didn't know why, those few months of his life were the things Kira hated the most. If he had even half a chance, he would have erased them in a second. Something he was seriously contemplating doing to this worthless bitch laying before him. He had the Death Note right in his hand...it would be so easy...

His horrible unrealistic thoughts as well as the assault of his vehemous words were brought to a sudden halt be the sound of his cell phone—which was reserved for Task Force use only—going off.

Almost reluctantly Light picked it up, his crimson eyes remaining locked onto Misa's silently weeping face. "What?" he spat into the receiver, not even trying to hide his rage.

"Light..." his father's voice was strained almost to the point of breaking, "the kidnappers they...they took Sayu. Light, they took your sister."

The phone dropped from Light's shaking hand as both he and Misa watched the very different worlds they'd sacrificed everything to create and would do anything to protect crumble into countless shattered pieces of broken memories scattered irrevocably on the floor.

_...DEatHNOtE..._

As Lady walked down the narrow hall away from Sayu's holding cell, a small sad smile played across her lips. _That little girl will probably never be the same again._ It was obvious that Sayu Yagami was strong, but Lady doubted that Sayu was _that_ felt a flush of anger. _This whole situation was caused by a selfish older brother who, despite the fact that he likes to play god, is nothing to look up to._

_The saddest thing however_, mused lady as she walked through the metal door at the end of the hallway and plopped down on the dusty sofa resting at the center of the room, _is the fact that I can't do anything about it. _No, that wasn't right. There were many things that Lady could do to alter Sayu's situation, but she would do none of them because they would jeopardize the success of her mission. And as disgusting as it was, this poor girl's safety and mental stability were nothing in comparison to what she was trying to accomplish.

The masked woman sighed in annoyance at her leather outfit which refused to allow her ease of movement as she attempted to stretch out on the old sofa. One very bad thing about leather, it didn't breath, at all, and in the hot dry environment of the Mojave desert, wearing it was absolute torture. It was no wonder Mello had opted to stay in the city.

Lady's sharp eyes darted over to her temporary partner who was, as expected, playing a video game, this time on an actual gaming consul instead of on his usual hand held. The device's annoying sounds of mock battle and weirdly smooth music, along with the ever present smoke cloud, the compounds intense heat, and everything else that had just happened finally succeeded in driving the leather clad woman over the edge.

"God dammit!" she yelled, causing the red head to jump and almost lose his grip on the PlayStation controller. After hitting the pause button he fixed his somewhat worried blue eyes on the obviously ticked woman.

"Lady?" he questioned uncertainly. She was usually so cool and collected. Seeing her almost ready to pull a Mello—Matt's special term for a temper tantrum—was unsettling to say the least.

Lady pulled uselessly at the collar of her long sleeved top in an attempt to rid herself of the unpleasant feel of sweat trickling down the back of her neck, not to mention every other inch of her overheated body covered with its unbreakable layer of leather clothing. Deciding that such gestures only exacerbated the situation, she fixed the curious, still smoking, gamer with a glare.

"It's too fucking hot!" she whined.

Matt grinned, his new partner was uncannily like Mello once you got past all her walls and masks. If the techy's best friend were the one roasting under all the leather on that dingy couch, he'd have said something almost identical.

"Well no duh, Lady," laughed Matt. "We're in the middle of the Mojave desert in an underground facility with faulty air conditioning. I suggest you lose some of those layers," advised the smoker, jerking his thumb over to the corner where his striped sweater, fur vest, gloves, and even socks and shoes were piled in a messy heap. "I can't even imagine how miserable you are right now in all that," he commented after taking a long draft of his cigarette.

Lady scowled at the red head clad only in his jeans and telltale red tinged goggles. "Easy for you to say," she grumbled. "You just want me to parade around in my undergarments."

_And then there are ways that her and Mel are worlds apart..._

Matt shrugged, going back to his game. "That wasn't my goal, but I'm not objecting or anything."

Lady rolled her eyes, the emerald green orbs eventually settling on the TV screen, on which the game's heroine—obviously designed with mostly male fan service in mind—was pulling off combos against angelic looking enemies that could double as pole dancing moves.

"What are you playing?" questioned Lady with a sigh, making no moves to take off the sweltering clothing that could be the cause of future heat stroke.

"Eh?" asked Matt, eyes remaining glued to the screen. "Oh, it's a game called Bayonetta. Mostly action, a lot of almost naked shots. Plot line's weaker than I'd like, but the combat system is to _die_ for. Very smooth combos and they all look great too. The designer also worked under Capcom to make Devil May Cry—which has got to be one of the best series ever—so I guess it's no surprise. But man," grinned Matt, "who ever thought of giving her guns on her feet is an absolute genius."

Lady, who had tuned out most of Matt's video game drabble and started the process of checking her many phones, suddenly brought her full attention back to the gamer. "What?"

"I was just saying how the game designer—"

"No, that last part."

"Guns on her feet?"

Lady nodded.

"Yep, everything from handguns to shotguns, and even grenade launchers," Matt informed her, demonstrating the fact by initiating a move that highlighted the main character's fire powered boots.

Lady watched in silence as the battles with larger and larger enemies unfolded, her interest slightly piqued. _The game of course blows it way out of proportion but the concept...as ridiculous as it is, might actually be feasible... _She grinned as she pulled out her white phone and entered the pass code that would allow her to finally listen to her many messages. Her smile persisted as she imagined the look on her weapon specialist's face if she ran the idea by him. _I wonder if he—_

Her mind halted mid-thought as Gevanni's annoyed voice met her ears. '_Lidner, I don't know where you are, but Near thinks the guys who hacked into our secure files are in the Los Angeles area, and we've narrowed their location down to a ten block radius. Near wanted you to run point on this mission, but...well we've got no idea where you are_.' The rest of the conversation—in which Gevanni informed Lady how "pissed" Near was—was lost to the sound of Lady's horrified cry of, "Shit!"

This time Matt actually did drop the controller; his health dropping dramatically as a result. "What?" he asked not even worrying about pausing the game. Lady being this agitated probably meant that the entire mission was collapsing around their heads. However, despite his rapt attention on the masked woman, the only answer the smoker received was her rapidly retreating form into her temporary room and a look that said, "don't you dare follow me."

Lady's door slammed shut and after several seconds of mental debate, Matt shrugged. Curiosity killed cats, and by now he might as well have been the Kira of the feline world. Abandoning his now dead character, Matt nimbly moved over to the woman's door and pressed his ear against it.

Lady quickly moved into the somewhat more private area of her room and wasted no time in pulling out the ebony phone that was quite possibly her only way out of this sticky situation. _It's L. It has to be. There is no one else in LA who has enough skills to hack into Near's system but doesn't have enough to keep from getting caught in the act. _Her finger's were frantically dialing the proper number. _That, coupled with the fact that L's been trying to get in contact with me and that I know he was attempting to gather info from the SPK, makes it almost a certainty. Why the hell didn't I check these messages sooner! I thought that he could handle a week on his own, and I didn't want Matt getting __suspicious about my contacts or worse trying to hack into my phones, but I could have found a way._ The sound of the connecting call played across her restless mind. "Come on...pick up!" she muttered. _Dammit! This is really bad. If L get's caught here, everything will have been for nothing..._

After what felt like an eternity the silky voice of the man she'd been working with for the past six years sounded smoothing across the receiver. "It's been a long time Lady. To what do I owe this pleasure."

"I need you're help," she said getting right to the point.

"Oh really? Already? I thought you weren't going to need me for almost another month now."

"Change of plans, _he's_ been discovered."

The man at the other end of the line laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific dear..."

Lady growled. _You know I can't do that. This place isn't secure enough for names!_

Suddenly her contact paused in his laughter. "You don't mean..._**him**_do you?"

With the level of excitement her associate had said "him" it was unquestionable that he meant L. "Yes. I'm sure you're aware of the current status of things?"

The giddy insanity filled laughter was not really the affirmative Lady was looking for, but it would have to do. "Listen, we don't have time to waste. I'm sure he's taken steps to insure his safety, but that may not be enough. We need to make sure he get's out of there without anyone knowing about his existence."

His wide grin was almost audible over the phone. "So in other words, you need Backup."

She sighed. "Yes, I need Backup."

The receiver clicked and silence filled the room. Now it was Lady's turn to dwell in the same uncertainty she'd been so happily imposing on those around her. She was worried about initiating her Backup Plan so early on. _There's no telling what he'll do..._ The anticipation was killing her almost as badly as the fact that she was powerless in this situation.

_Well, at least I won't have to wait long. In a few hours I should know if we're still operational or if the Blood Bath has started... _

_...DEatHNOtE..._

"Dammit..." The rare sound of The World's Greatest Detective swearing hissed thought the small dark interior of the surveillance room. Ten minutes ago, L had managed to sneak past the rather bleary eyed guard and gain access to the apartment complex's security camera system, but time was ticking. From L's previous and thankfully done observation of the guard shifts, he calculated he had about five more minutes until the evening shift's more competent surveillance room operator replaced his much less motivated counterpart who—as he was often prone—was on a rather long smoking break outside

L cursed again, this time utilizing a rather unsavory word from his first language. This sort of job had been much easier when all the necessary equipment had been laid out for him, or better yet, when all the work had been done by... L's finger's slowed on the key board as painful memories of his beloved, long dead care taker began to fill his mind.

He shook himself, _No, I can't afford to be distracted. _This building was the next to be searched, and unless he wanted to reveal his continued existence to a rather flabbergast Near and risk the success of his and Lady's plans, he had to be out of here in the next fifteen minutes.

Bringing an already abused thumb to his lips to be mercilessly worried, L continued navigating through the many files, searching for, eliminating, and replacing all his and the currently most unhelpful Lady's images. By this point he was seriously considering just leaving all the deleted parts blank instead of undergoing the time consuming process of inserting the proper believable footage. It wasn't as if he could construct something that Near's observant gaze wouldn't eventually uncover in this limited amount of time anyway. _Sometimes I believe I trained those three too we—_

L's thought's stopped midstream as the sound of the cheap metal door sliding open squeaked across the small room. L's body became frozen stiff as his eyes locked with the guard he was sure he'd left dozing outside. Apparently his rather stupid slip of the tongue had done more than momentarily damage his image.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in there?" exclaimed the middle-aged Hispanic man. By the look in his wide brown eyes, the site of the shrouded man crouched like a gargoyle in front of the glowing monitor was obviously the strangest thing he'd seen while working the night shift. In fact, the poor man looked as though he'd just seen a ghost. With the way the artificial light caused L's almost deathly pale skin to glow and deepened the already predominate shadows underneath his wide eyes, the detective wouldn't have faulted the just awoken guard for believing that he was some sort of wraith.

L's mind raced to come up with a solution to fate's newest cruel twist in his life, as he helplessly watched the percentages of not being discovered drop precipitously. Unlike surveillance tapes, human minds could not be so easily erased of things they shouldn't have born witness to. Even if L was able to convince the man that he was a new member of the night staff—which only had a rate of success of 7.4%—his face and presence here had been permanently engrained in the man's memories and once the SPK members started their investigation of this location, it was an almost certainty—96.3%—that this little encounter would be brought to light.

Still, it was the best out of a multitude of bad options. Near already knew that someone besides Mello and the Kira Task Force was involved in this convoluted mess of a case and while he didn't want to reveal anything more to Near for the moment, this slip up would not necessarily put a stop to all of his and Lady's schemes for defeating Kira.

L put on his best imitation of a friendly smile, hoping it didn't look too strained, and adopted an accent similar to the one he'd used when posing as Matsuda's drinking buddy, Asahi. "Oh, hello. You must be Marcus Sanchez." Again L thanked his careful examination of the nigh shift member's names, and schedules. "I'm Chris, Chris Baker. I'm the new security guard trainee. You know, under James, James Lorenzo?" At this point L didn't even stop and wonder at how quickly and smoothly the lies formed in his mind and were transferred to his almost silver tongue.

Mr. Sanchez did not look convinced. "If you're workin' under James, then why isn't he here?"

L didn't miss a beat. "Oh you know how he loves his smoking breaks. He asked me to just sit here and mind the system for him and, ya know, familiarize myself with the software." L tried a new tactic, attempting to turn the tables on the guard. "This place is great; the rules are so lax. Where I used to work if any of the night shift were caught not at their posts or sleeping we would have been fired right away, no questions asked. We couldn't even smoke on the job! Can you believe that?" questioned the detective with a sorry shake of his head.

The strategy seemed to have the desired effect as Marcus suddenly looked worried about something besides this possible intruder. L was quite certain that no security job would be so lax as to allow unmanned posts and sleeping guards especially considering the area of Los Angeles they were in. Unfortunately the effect didn't last. "Look, 'Chris', forgive me for bein' suspicious but I didn't hear anything about there bein' any new trainees. I suppose ya wouldn't mind verifying who you are with James. Ya know, just for my piece of mind."

_Dammit...this is not good._ "Sure, as soon as he's back I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you who I am."

"Why don't we just go now? Get it over with?" The guard was obviously not backing down.

"Uh...well shouldn't we not leave the security room unwatched?" questioned L in a last ditch effort that had a 97.9% Chance of failure.

"Nah, as you said, the rules around here are pretty lax."

His own ploy used against him; it was insult to injury.

L knew if he went with the man, James Lorenzo would reveal that he was not who he said he was, and further more, L had no intention of being revealed to _two_ people. Not to mention the fact that all the footage was still not edited. Negotiation with Mr. Sanchez was obviously pointless now... His only option left was to incapacitate the guard, delete the rest of the footage—editing being a useless effort at this point—and get out of here as fast as he could with the knowledge that Near would be hot on his trail. Hell, it might even be easier to join forces with his youngest successor at this point.

L was just about ready to put his latest scheme into action, shifting the weight of his body to the balls of his feet as he made a show of standing to follow Mr. Sanchez out of the room, when the man suddenly clutched his chest, a look of agony shooting across his face.

Immediately thoughts of heart attacks and Kira raced though L's mind. _But if Kira's here and watching, why would he attempt to 'help' me! If he's here, he can see my face, why am I not the one falling to the ground!_

However, the possibility that it was Kira who had killed Marcus Sanchez quickly vanished as a red stain began to spread across the man's chest, radiating from around the tip of a blade just protruding out from the man's breast that until now, had gone unnoticed by the great detective. With a heavy limp thud accompanied by the ragged sound of trying to force air into a ripped lung sac, Marcus fell to the floor at L's feet, leaving the supposedly dead detective face to face with a impending dark figure that seemed to materialize out of the shadows.

"W-who are you." Stammered L. He both hoped it was Lady and at the same time prayed that it wasn't. For while L had desperately needed her help, this was not the way he wanted to be "saved". L knew that Lady had in fact killed people before to further her plans, but they had all been convicted criminals currently involved in the crimes that had landed them in jail in the first place. Not that that made her actions condonable, but it was a whole lot better than murdering an innocent man who had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A soft manic giggling filed the seemingly electrified air as the figure leaned down and removed his dripping red colored blade from Mr. Sanchez's no longer moving back. The sound was so eerily familiar that is caused the hair on the back of L's neck to stand on end.

The shadow examined the murder weapon and seemed to struggle not to lick off the gleaming crimson liquid. "Oh come now, Lollipop... don't tell me you've forgotten about me..." Crooned the figure stepping out of the shadows, eyes shining the same color as the growing pool of blood around the dead man.

L's mind emptied of all thought, only reverberating with the single letter that man who should no longer exist used as a name. _**B!**_

_**...DEatHNOtE...**_

AN: And thus the plot thickens and our favorite psychopathic L doppelganger joins the roster. His addition was hinted to in several of the previous chapters (Chapter VIII: Stylish and Chapter X: Exhumed). I hope you enjoy this new twist to the story.

Also I am happy to have finally revealed the Death Note character whom Lady is based on. To all of you who had already guessed Halle Lidner/Lidner Bullook, congratulations; you were correct! Now I know there are several inconsistencies (eye color ect...), but have faith in me. All such items will be justly explained as the plot progresses. And please keep in mind that I have done a lot of background and character manipulations when it comes to underdeveloped characters like Halle.

The last thing I want to talk about before I go, are my personal feelings towards Misa's character. I will admit that, when I first started out with this story, I was a Misa-Hater. However, I am a firm believer that character bashing—of any type—is a highly unprofessional and immature way for a writer to behave. So, after many long weeks of putting myself in Misa's extremely cute platform shoes (even Misa-Haters have to admit that girl's got _style_!), and re-watching/reading several of her more important scenes, I am happy to say that, not only am I confidant that I can do her justice in my story, I have come to really appreciate the importance of her character and even to grow fond of it.

Kinda odd seeing as what I put her through in this chapter... But I must clarify that it was not out of hate, but out of the need to develop her character and cause her to realize just how "messed up" Light has become. This is very good news for all you Misa-Misa fans out there because it means that she will now have a much bigger part in this story.

Well, that's all I wish to say for now. Comments, criticisms, and/or questions are highly appreciated.

-Asiera

P.S. If I do end up taking forever to update again (I'm hoping against that), here are some amazing Death Note stories that could use your support: _**Friend or Foe **_and _**Friend or Flame**_ by Spotofpaint, _**Quench the Flame **_by Senshi'sBard (ongoing fic), _**Love Games** _by PapertownsL (ongoing fic), _**Asylum**_ and _**Silence**_ by Bahari (ongoing series), and _**Caveat Emptor**_ by Tierfal.


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